Tiger Brands presented a settlement offer to listeriosis victims in May 2025, but more than a year later, no settlement has been reached.
A Tiger Brands facility in Germiston that is believed to have handled contaminated products. Picture: Gallo Images / Netwerk24 /Felix Dlangamandla
Lawyers pursuing the class action against Tiger Brands over the 2017 listeriosis outbreak are making progress in their pursuit of justice for the victims.
A court ruling in April ordered government departments to cooperate with the legal representatives by releasing medical records and investigation reports related to the outbreak.
At least 180 people died between late 2017 and early 2018 after eating contaminated food traced to two Tiger Brands facilities in Germiston and Polokwane.
Settlement negotiations ongoing
April’s High Court ruling ordered the health, agriculture and forestry departments, as well as the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) to hand over records related to the outbreak and subsequent investigations.
The lawyers handling the class action, Richard Spoor Incorporated (RSI) and LHL Attorneys, confirmed to claimants that the NICD and NHLS were cooperating with the order.
“We have received a substantial volume of material, which our team and experts are now reviewing as part of our ongoing trial preparation,” the legal teams stated.
The lawyers remain in negotiations with Tiger Brands over a settlement, with Tiger Brands having been furnished with documentation the company itself had requested.
RSI and LHL were determining the losses incurred by the victims on a case-by-case basis by assessing personal records and accounts.
In addition to medical records, these include funeral expenses, tax information, earnings and the employment losses suffered.
“While this work is primarily important to prove your individual claim and damages, it also helps to demonstrate Tiger Brands’ liability to the entire class.
“It also remains highly valuable for settlement discussions,” the legal teams explained.
Listeriosis outbreak
Tiger Brands offered a settlement in May 2025, with one of the complainants confirming to The Citizen a year later that no settlement had since been reached.
Tiger Brands was contacted for comment, and the company’s response will be added if forthcoming.
The World Health Organization (WHO) stated in March 2018 that 91% of the identified strains belonged to Listeria monocytogenes Sequence Type 6.
“The same strain was also found in the processing environment of the manufacturer of the implicated product,” the WHO stated.
As of March 2018, 978 laboratory-confirmed listeriosis cases had been confirmed in all provinces of the country, with that number exceeding 1 000 as the year progressed.
Gauteng accounted for 59% of cases, followed by the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal with 12% and 7%, respectively.
“The outcome of illness is known for 674 patients, of whom 27% of them died. This case fatality rate is comparable to other recorded listeriosis outbreaks worldwide.
“In this outbreak, 42% of the cases are neonates who were infected during pregnancy or delivery,” the WHO stated.
