Tiger Brands settlement in listeriosis class action offered 'without admission of liability'
Tiger Brands, South Africa's biggest food producer, on Monday offered to compensate listeriosis victims, marking a major step towards resolving the class action after a 2017 outbreak that killed about 200 people and sickened more than 1,000.
The offer was made by the attorneys representing Tiger Brands lead insurer QBE Insurance on April 25, which made settlement offers to specific classes of claimants who suffered from listeriosis, the company said.
The proposal provides for full compensation to claimants for proven damages, subject to a settlement mechanism that still needs to be finalised — including how individual damages will be assessed.
To protect the privacy of the individuals participating in the settlement offer, no details of the offer and/or payment will be made public, the company said.
The offer has been made 'without admission of liability', Tiger Brands said.
In January 2017 an outbreak of listeriosis, a food-borne disease, occurred in South Africa that was traced to a factory run by a Tiger Brands subsidiary at the time, Enterprise Foods, which makes processed sausages, bacon and deli meat.
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