The Shoprite Group recalled its Farmer's Deli red viennas on Friday.

The retail giant said in a statement that it had received a notification from an environmental health official‚ based in the Winelands District‚ that Listeria monocytogenes was identified "in an initial testing of a single batch of red viennas".

More tests have to be conducted to confirm the presence of the bacterium and the results of these tests will only be available in five working days.

All Farmer's Deli red and smoked viennas have been removed from the shelves as a precautionary measure.

"Listeria monocytogenes is not the same as Listeria ST6‚ which was linked by the Department of Health to fatal listeriosis cases that occurred in South Africa‚" the statement read.

The retailer said Listeria monocytogenes was found in a single batch (BB 18 March B5/N) and was not linked to the recent Listeria ST6 recall of Enterprise Foods polony.

Shoprite said consumers could return Farmer’s Deli 500g and 1kg red and smoked Viennas products for a full refund.

Shoprite has stores in 14 other African countries.

On Thursday Reuters reported that Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi is concerned that there could be other cases in the Southern African region.

It has already been confirmed that the listeriosis outbreak - the worst in recorded history - has killed 180 people in South Africa since January last year.

Several African nations have stopped importing processed meat from South Africa.