Tito Mboweni says recall of tinned pilchards isn't enough to scare him off

Finance minister Tito Mboweni says the recall of tinned pilchards isn't going to stop him cooking and eating his favourite dish.

This after the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) on Monday recalled various brands in tomato and chilli sauces.

The NRSC said 12 brands were affected by a “canning deficiency”.

According to the regulator, the products were “compromised’ on the production line when the sauce was added to the fish in the can and “therefore could affect the safety of consumers”. .

However, speaking ahead of his budget speech on Wednesday, Mboweni told eNCA: “There must be no panic about the fish. It is only a certain factory that is affected, not the whole of the canned fish industry.

“It's a beautiful and wonderful fish. I cooked it last night (Tuesday)," said the finance minister

Mboweni often shares his cooking exploits on Twitter, with pilchards being one of his faves.

During his pre-budget speech media briefing, BusinessLIVE reported that Mboweni joked about eating pilchards instead of rump steak

“We are not at a point of austerity; we are cleaning house. We are still spending, but not at the rate we would like to.

“We can’t have all the things we want at the same time. We can only have pilchards, not rump steak. But austerity would mean we can’t have pilchards or rump steak.”