Food safety

Compensation battle for listeriosis victims

South Africa needed effective law enforcement to ensure speedy compensation for food poisoning victims and others claiming against large corporations.

This is the view of public interest lawyer Richard Spoor, who is seeking to get the food conglomerate Tiger Brands to compensate people and their families involved in the 2017 listeriosis outbreak.

In an interview with the Business Times section of the Sunday Times, Spoor said holding companies accountable should not be left only to civil claims for damages, but should also involve the criminal justice system.

Spoor says the outbreak killed 218 people and affected more than 1,000 others. In March 2018 the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) named a Tiger Brands facility as the source of the outbreak. Tiger Brands has not admitted liability, and the issue has yet to go to trial.

Spoor is making an issue of the six-year delay. He said large corporations and their insurers could delay damages claims, profiting from the funds involved while victims got nothing.

He said action against companies should not be taken only through compensation claims. There should also be swift police investigations and criminal prosecutions. It was the state’s responsibility to hold companies accountable.

“Where are the police?” he asked. “Where are the inquests, where’s the National Prosecuting Authority?”

Spoor said a criminal case would establish liability and result in speedier compensation for victims.