Mar 16 2018 – Ilse Struweg
TIGER BRANDS, the South African food giant at the centre of the listeriosis storm engulfing the country, is facing serious brand erosion as a result of the way it handled the unfolding crisis.
It could have responded better.
Tiger Brands was thrown into the centre of the listeriosis storm after South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases announced that its investigation had traced the origins of the disease to one of the company’s biggest meat processing plants.
The culprit was identified as polony from the Enterprise Foods facility that produces a range of cold meats. Tiger Brands, a $2.5bn Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed business, owns Enterprise Foods among other continent wide popular food brands.
South Africa has been struggling with the listeriosis outbreak for 14 months. Unable to find the source of the affected products, the outbreak developed into the worstcase of listeriosis in the world. By the end of February 2018, health authorities had confirmed 948 cases with 180 fatalities.
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