​The City of Cape Town’s bacteriological lab has concluded their bacteriological assessment of the samples of the remaining chicken and gravy which formed part of the meal which left two children dead in Philippi earlier this week.

The test results show that there were not sufficiently high enough levels of bacterial organisms to cause illness or death. The City’s Environmental Health Department can therefore confirm that the chicken was safe for consumption when bought.

The samples tested include the remaining chicken which was still frozen and the gravy which remained in the pot after the meal was consumed. None of the cooked chicken was available for testing as this was all consumed at the time of the meal.

The City’s environmental health practitioners have conducted visits to both the farm where the live chicken was bought and the vendor who sold the family this chicken. From their observations, the practitioners are satisfied that there is no cause for concern for risk in terms of how this chicken was reared and stored.

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