CHRIS BARRON: ‘Tiger Brands should face criminal charges’
Lawyer Richard Spoor accuses company of delaying tactics in public action lawsuit over deadly listeriosis outbreak
South Africa needs an effective law enforcement system to hold corporations accountable, says public interest lawyer Richard Spoor, who has spent six years trying to hold Tiger Brands accountable for poisoning consumers."You can’t leave it to civil society, you can’t leave it to the civil justice system. We don’t have the money, we don’t have the resources. We can be dragged out, we can be pushed around, we can be shoved off."That’s pretty much what’s been happening since he launched a public action lawsuit against the largest food producer on the JSE six years ago for a listeriosis outbreak which killed 218 people and left more than 1,000 maimed between 2017 and 2018. It has yet to go to trial. In March 2018 the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) linked the poisoning to polony produced at Tiger Brands’ Enterprise Foods factory in Polokwane. Their research was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2020."The crux of the New England Journal [article] is ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.