Tiger Brands has agreed to make advance payments to people seeking “urgent” medical attention related to the listeriosis outbreak that claimed more than 200 lives and infected more than 1,000 people in 2018.
This follows a long-standing class action against the company .
Tiger Brands was linked to the outbreak after the National Institute For Communicable Diseases (NICD) found a strain of the bacterial disease (L.Monocytogenes ST6) in ready-to-eat meat products manufactured at its Polokwane factory in September 2018.
Tiger Brands CEO Tjaart Kruger said on Monday the company would make payments even though it “does not have a legal obligation” to do so.
“The legal process has proved long and arduous. Even though liability has not yet been determined and Tiger Brands has no legal obligation to provide interim relief at this stage in the class action, the interim advance payment to several claimants with urgent needs recognises the debilitating circumstances in which they find themselves,” Kruger said.
He said there would be an assessment of the number of claimants who could qualify for assistance.
“Where the company has been provided with the required information and documentation to enable decision-making in the process, we will act swiftly.”
Kruger was upbeat about the class action, saying the company had managed to gain access to NICD records.
“We are particularly pleased to report that progress has been made in our long-standing efforts to gain access to the NICD’s records relating to their investigation of the listeriosis outbreak. The NICD has agreed to co-operate with us and will be making their records available to the parties as soon as possible. We believe that access to the NICD’s records will greatly assist the parties in moving the matter forward,” he said.
The legal battle continues in court despite this agreement between the two parties.
“The legal challenge involves 18 people suing Tiger Brands for damages allegedly suffered as a result of the listeriosis infection,” court documents explain.
“This includes those who contracted listeriosis as a result of eating contaminated food products, dependents of those who died from contracting listeriosis and unborn babies who contracted listeriosis while in their mothers’ womb. Ninety-three newborns died from listeriosis.
“The affected people argued women miscarried or gave birth to still babies and a number of the newborns who survived the listeriosis outbreak were permanently disabled and disformed.”
Representing those litigating against the company, Richard Spoor said the agreement was made possible through open communication. The amount of the payments was not disclosed.
“We are glad to have open lines of communication with the defendants at this critical time in the class action. This is an important inroad and a first step in the parties’ efforts towards justice for the victims of the listeriosis outbreak. The interim advance payments will go some way towards relieving the acute needs of the recipients,” he said.
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