Pretoria, 23 October 2023 - As a leading South African food company, Truda Foods is committed to providing safe and nutritious food to all our customers.

We would like to make a statement, with respect to alleged pills found in a Chippa packet, at the Aha-setjhaba Primary School in the Free State. We have met with the headmaster of the school Mr NP Letloenyane this morning. Mr. Letloenyane cannot confirm that the pill(s) were in the packet prior to it being opened. He was also unable to produce the pills or confirm where the tablets might have come from. He reported that a 13-year-old had brought the matter to his attention. The school prefers that the child remain anonymous. 

Truda Foods has conducted a full internal forensic investigation. This includes and is not limited to, tracking the production of that product using the manufacturer date code, assessing video footage of production, and interviewing our staff that worked on that line during that shift to rule out the speculations.

We can categorically state that there were no pills, capsules, or tablets in the packet when it left our factory. Therefore, we believe foul play took place outside of the supply chain. We can assure our loyal customers that every packet of Truda chips in the market right now is safe and was made by us in accordance with the highest manufacturing protocols.

We also want to confirm that no one has been harmed or developed an illness due to this incident. If the public finds any foreign materials in any product, we urge consumers to instantly report these matters to the brand.

One of the realities of the modern world of social media is that hoaxes like this occur all the time.

We take every care to ensure that our quality standards and the integrity of our brands are protected.

To date, we have not encountered a single incident of a fake Truda product. We stand behind the authenticity of all our locally produced products and urge the public to immediately alert counterfeit goods to the Department of Trade and Industry.

We take this matter very seriously and are working closely with the relevant authorities to further investigate the source of these fabricated allegations. We want to ensure the public is informed, remains vigilant, and reports suspicious activity immediately.