Department applauds Tiger Brands' decision to pay listeria victims
Tiger Brands announced on Monday that it will make settlement offers to people who suffered damages after contracting listeriosis, a food-borne disease, from its products.
In 2017, a listeriosis outbreak linked to contaminated processed foods resulted in over 200 deaths and sickened more than 800 people.
A class action lawsuit was filed against Tiger Brands on behalf of more than a thousand people after the origin of listeriosis was traced back to the company's manufacturing in Polokwane.
According to the company's statement, the attorneys representing Tiger Brands' lead insurer, QBE Insurance Group Limited, made settlement offers on April 25 to specific classes of claimants who suffered from listeriosis.
'Today's announcement represents an important milestone and follows shortly on measures already taken in February 2025 to offer interim relief in the form of advance payments to identified claimants with urgent medical needs,' Tjaart Kruger, chief executive officer of Tiger Brands, said in the statement.
The Department of Health, according to Sowetan Live , welcomes Tiger Brands' decision to settle the listeriosis class action lawsuit as it provides closure to families who lost loved ones to the disease.
Foster Mohale, the spokesperson for the Department of Health, has urged anyone with evidence linking the listeriosis outbreak to the deaths of their loved ones to come forward. He said this will allow the department to access their clinical records and determine whether they have valid claims eligible for settlement.
'The outbreak highlighted the importance of consistent and strict adherence to food safety practices in the processing and handling ready-to-eat foods, especially for mass supply. Food safety and hygiene practices remain crucial for public health, preventing foodborne illnesses, reducing food waste, and avoiding costly food recalls.'
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