Our goal is to make product quality and safety a competitive advantage.
Approach
Our key policy
Quality and product safety policy
Millions rely on Tiger Brands products for their daily
nutritional and health needs, including home and personal
care items. Our commitment to product safety and quality,
particularly food safety, remains a core value of our business.
Our approach to food safety and quality is guided by globally
recognised certification standards, including FSSC 22000
for food manufacturing and ISO 9001 for our Home and
Personal Care (HPC) manufacturing facility. We comply
with all relevant food safety legislation and regulations,
maintaining government certificates of acceptability for
all our operations. Our manufacturing processes undergo
annual external certification and surveillance audits by a
global body. We validate our product safety and quality
management systems through both internal and independent
third-party audits, addressing non-conformances and
implementing improvements to enhance our processes
continually.
We maintain stringent supplier quality management
processes, holding ourselves, our suppliers and third-party
manufacturing partners to globally recognised standards.
This includes requiring certifications, performing continuous
risk assessments, addressing gaps and maintaining
compliance. Our supplier quality assurance approach
includes regular engagements with suppliers to plan,
audit and implement improvements.
We are advancing the implementation of a digital food
safety and quality management system, now in year two
of a three-year initiative to enhance our management and
reporting capabilities through digitalisation. The first phase
is 98% complete, with key modules developed, including
supplier quality management, incoming materials inspection
management, internal audits and self-assessments,
complaints management and non-conformance
management. Historical data uploads are in progress
and all new activities are being conducted on the new
system. Phase two, currently 47% implemented, will
include document management, food safety systems
management (including HACCP risk assessments), and the system's rollout to our Chococam factory in Cameroon.
Our quality and product safety policy drives us towards a
fully integrated food safety and quality system, supported
by robust, up-to-date processes and skilled, well-trained
teams who work with a commitment to quality excellence.
This policy is closely aligned with our strategy, ensuring that
our actions are purpose-driven and focused.
Our strategy aims to make quality and food safety a
competitive advantage for the business. It focuses on
three core areas: restoring the basics to strengthen our
foundational practices, enhancing capabilities and culture
to embed a quality and food safety mindset, and enabling
continuous improvement to elevate our performance.
Management
Our quality and food safety system, anchored at the group
level, sets the policy, strategy and direction, empowering
every employee to take personal responsibility for food safety
and quality, particularly at the operational level. Category
managing directors, together with their operations directors
and plant managers, are accountable for implementing and
executing the system. The chief manufacturing officer,
supported by the group quality and food safety director,
governs this system, with ultimate oversight residing with
the board through the risk and sustainability committee.
Raising the floor
All our food manufacturing operations comply with the
Global Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000
standard, recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative
(GFSI). Additionally, all operations conduct GFSI self-assessments
quarterly. Our Home and Personal Care
(HPC) manufacturing operations are ISO 9001 certified.
The IT system we are implementing over three years will
enhance reporting capabilities, enabling compliance with
disclosure requirements related to GFSI audit conformance,
corrective actions and supplier certifications.
As part of our certification commitments, we regularly
conduct internal audits and risk assessments across all
manufacturing facilities to address and mitigate identified
risks. These assessments cover products, processes,
equipment and infrastructure. Last year, we reviewed our
risk assessment process and initiated a new audit process
aligned with the American Institute of Baking (AIB) Standard
for specific food categories. Although the AIB Standard
is not GFSI-recognised, it is a rigorous and credible audit
standard, focusing on the production environment and
operational aspects, complementing our FSSC 22000
certification. The auditing of all food manufacturing sites
against the AIB Standard continued in 2024, with all
remaining sites set for completion by November 2024.
Action plans to close gaps identified in these audits are
ongoing and closely monitored.
All our suppliers, especially third-party manufacturers, must
hold food safety certification, ideally recognised by GFSI,
such as FSSC 22000, British Retail Consortium (BRC)
Global Standards, International Featured Standard (IFS),
or Safe Quality Food (SQF) programme. At a minimum,
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)
certification is conditionally accepted. In 2024, all third-party
logistics warehouses remained certified against the
BRC Global Standard for warehousing and distribution.
We have well-defined supplier quality management
processes and recently strengthened our risk assessment
procedures, expanding coverage to include raw materials,
packaging, manufacturing, hygienic design, cleaning,
sanitation, finished products and monitoring and validation.
Our supplier quality assurance (SQA) process is supported
by multi-disciplinary internal teams and external expert
consultants to address gaps and drive improvements. In
2024, we conducted numerous audits, particularly of
third-party manufacturers producing finished products for
Tiger Brands, following our annual supplier audit plan,
which covers both local and international suppliers.
Our product testing capabilities
We conduct all necessary product testing through a
combination of in-house and outsourced facilities. Our
central micro laboratory, which handles microbiological
testing of product samples from our inland factories, is
accredited by the South African National Accreditation
System (SANAS) to the ISO 17025 standard.
Our key testing activities include:
Microbiological testing: Conducted at our central micro laboratory for inland factories, and onsite or outsourced for coastal factories
Pathogen testing: Previously outsourced to Microchem, now handled by Merieux Nutrisciences and AssureCloud laboratories, which were onboarded in 2024 to provide enhanced testing capabilities and reporting
Physicochemical testing: Conducted onsite and outsourced for specialised testing
Sensory evaluation: Performed onsite
We also conduct precautionary testing for emerging quality or food safety concerns
Enhancing capabilities and culture
The new Tiger Brands operating model introduced in 2024
has brought further changes to our quality and food safety
structures and capabilities, including the Centre of Excellence
(CoE), shifting more ownership and accountability to the
category and site levels, decentralising it from the CoE.
Our quality and food safety structure focuses on five
distinct functional areas: food safety management, quality
management, supplier quality management, category
quality management and go-to-market quality management.
New roles introduced across these areas in 2023 – including
microbiologist, hygienist manager, food safety specialist,
food safety regulatory specialist, sensory specialist, quality
systems specialist, go-to-market specialist and supplier
quality specialist – have significantly contributed to defining
new processes, improving governance and providing
critical support to our manufacturing sites.
Regular staff training remains pivotal to our strategy for
effective food safety and quality management. Ongoing
training is provided through our e-learning platform and
onsite at all manufacturing plants, with targeted
training delivered as needed. Our collaboration with
the Centre for Food Safety at Stellenbosch University
continues, including an annual lecture series for our
technical teams delivered by leading academics.
In 2024, we implemented various training interventions,
including the AIB Standard audit training, sensory
evaluation, training on key quality and food safety
standards, supplier training and employee training
on the new quality IT system. We also hold monthly
"town hall" meetings with the entire food safety
and quality team to review performance, address
challenges and streamline our ways of working.
To foster a culture of continuous improvement, we
conducted a food safety and quality culture survey at
15 sites, including our head office. The survey identified
three key areas for improvement: training, investment
and reward. Action plans were developed at each
participating site to address these gaps and progress
is being tracked closely. In August 2024, we completed
the survey at all remaining sites and we are currently
consolidating the feedback reports. A similar process
of communication and action planning will follow to
drive improvement. We also continue to celebrate the
Food Safety Week (June) and Quality Week (November)
across the organisation, in line with global calendars.
2024 marks the third consecutive year that Tiger Brands
has recognised and celebrated these key events.
Raising the bar
Our food quality management system integrates the
Manufacturing Excellence Customs and Practices
(MECP) framework, serving as a roadmap to achieving
manufacturing excellence by benchmarking our maturity
against industry best practices. MECP has been
implemented through foundational pillars, including
quality. The quality pillar provides tools and guidelines
for systematising daily management practices at our
operations, covering standard practices, target
setting, assessments and reporting.
Now in the third year of implementing this framework,
we have established foundational pillars at 10 priority
sites: Culinary Boksburg, Davita, Pasta, King Foods,
Jungle Oats, Albany Germiston, Baby Nutrition, Isando
Beverages and S&T Mobeni. The rollout of the MECP
quality pillar is progressing well at these priority sites.
Additionally, we have begun implementing quality
standard practices at non-priority sites to prepare
for MECP expansion across all locations.
The Centre for Food Safety at Stellenbosch University
The Centre for Food Safety is an applied food-science
research consortium where Stellenbosch University
researchers collaborate with the food industry and other
stakeholders to address real-world food safety challenges.
Launched in 2018 by Stellenbosch University in partnership
with Tiger Brands, we continue to support the centre's
efforts to advance food safety knowledge and practices in
South Africa. Our ongoing collaboration includes projects
such as microbiological risk assessments, independent
food safety research and advisory support. We are also
exploring further areas for collaboration, including
agrisciences, sensory science, expanded microbiology
support and additional training and expertise opportunities.
We have set measurable product safety and quality objectives
across all operations and at the group level to drive continuous
improvement and ensure compliance with standards.
Performance is monitored against these annual targets through
a standardised quality scorecard, implemented across all sites
and categories, with monthly performance reporting.
Performance
Over the last six years, we have significantly strengthened our
quality and food safety systems and continue to build on this
progress. However, in the first quarter of 2024, we faced
challenges in customer satisfaction, with overall complaints
increasing by 25% compared to the same period in the previous
year. The key categories contributing to this increase were
Grains, Culinary and Beverages.
In response, we implemented site-specific action plans to address these issues, with weekly oversight meetings to track
progress. This focused effort has led to significant improvements in complaint rates since Q2. For 2024 overall, we achieved
2,85 complaints per million units sold, representing a 4% decrease from 2023. We experienced no product recalls and
received no notices from government authorities regarding regulatory food safety violations.
Quality performance scorecard 2024
KPI
2024
Target
2024
2023
2022
Number of public recalls
0
0
0
1
Increase/(decrease) in market place incidents (%)
(20)
3
–
11
Increase/(decrease) in complaints (%)
(12)
(4)
(17)
(14)
Increase/(decrease) in foreign object complaints (%)
(12)
(22)
(23)
17
Increase/(decrease) in health-related complaints (%)
N/A
(6)
5
(26)
Increase/(decrease) in infestation complaints (%)
(12)
(5)
(5)
(25)
Key
Better than target
Worse than target, but better than prior year
Worse than target and prior year
2024 update on the listeriosis class action lawsuit
The class action against the company arising from the
outbreak of listeriosis was certified by the High Court
(Gauteng Local Division, Johannesburg) on 3 December
2018. Summons were issued against Tiger Brands on
16 April 2019. The company filed its plea on 8 August
2019, which was subsequently amended in May 2024
following amendments to the plaintiffs' particulars of claim effected in January 2024.
Since the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA),
handed down on 4 February 2022, overturned the June
2020 decision of the High Court compelling various third
parties – including the National Institute for Communicable
Diseases (NICD), the South African Bureau of Standards,
two accredited national laboratories and select meat
producers – to provide epidemiological information
required for the class action lawsuit, the parties have
continued to attend to pre-trial preparations. These include
the discovery of documents and records relevant to the
class action in terms of the Rules of Court to get the
matter ready for trial for the court to determine liability.
A trial date will be allocated by the court once all these
pre-trial preparations have been completed.
As part of an overall endeavour to expedite resolution
of the class action, in January 2023, the attorneys
representing the company and its insurers (the company's
attorneys) and the plaintiffs' attorneys jointly approached
the NICD for access to their records relevant to the
listeriosis outbreak. These records are vital to a
determination of liability. In January 2024, the NICD
released the so-called FASTQ files to the plaintiffs'
attorneys with some data but not all the data in the
NICD's possession relating to their investigation of
the listeriosis outbreak. The files were shared with the
company's attorneys in February 2024 for review by
their appointed experts. The experts' review of the data
is at an advanced stage.
The company's attorneys have engaged with the plaintiffs'
attorneys to agree on relief for qualifying individuals with
urgent medical needs, although liability has not yet been
determined. In addition, the legal representatives are
engaging on measures to arrive at a speedier resolution
of the class action overall.
The company is committed to working diligently to bring
the listeriosis class action to a close as quickly as possible.
The company has product liability insurance cover
appropriate for a group of its size. Coverage is subject to
the terms and limits of the policy. The company's insurers
have advised that the product liability policy does not
include cover for exemplary or punitive damages should
such an award be made by the court. Should such an
award be made (or for constitutional damages), the product
liability policy will not cover that portion of the award which
relates to damages that are not compensatory in nature.
The company has reserved its rights in this regard.
Critical anchors
Food safety and quality
Our goal is to make product quality and safety a competitive advantage.
Approach
Our key policy
Millions rely on Tiger Brands products for their daily nutritional and health needs, including home and personal care items. Our commitment to product safety and quality, particularly food safety, remains a core value of our business.
Our approach to food safety and quality is guided by globally recognised certification standards, including FSSC 22000 for food manufacturing and ISO 9001 for our Home and Personal Care (HPC) manufacturing facility. We comply with all relevant food safety legislation and regulations, maintaining government certificates of acceptability for all our operations. Our manufacturing processes undergo annual external certification and surveillance audits by a global body. We validate our product safety and quality management systems through both internal and independent third-party audits, addressing non-conformances and implementing improvements to enhance our processes continually.
We maintain stringent supplier quality management processes, holding ourselves, our suppliers and third-party manufacturing partners to globally recognised standards. This includes requiring certifications, performing continuous risk assessments, addressing gaps and maintaining compliance. Our supplier quality assurance approach includes regular engagements with suppliers to plan, audit and implement improvements.
We are advancing the implementation of a digital food safety and quality management system, now in year two of a three-year initiative to enhance our management and reporting capabilities through digitalisation. The first phase is 98% complete, with key modules developed, including supplier quality management, incoming materials inspection management, internal audits and self-assessments, complaints management and non-conformance management. Historical data uploads are in progress and all new activities are being conducted on the new system. Phase two, currently 47% implemented, will include document management, food safety systems management (including HACCP risk assessments), and the system's rollout to our Chococam factory in Cameroon.
Our quality and product safety policy drives us towards a fully integrated food safety and quality system, supported by robust, up-to-date processes and skilled, well-trained teams who work with a commitment to quality excellence. This policy is closely aligned with our strategy, ensuring that our actions are purpose-driven and focused.
Our strategy aims to make quality and food safety a competitive advantage for the business. It focuses on three core areas: restoring the basics to strengthen our foundational practices, enhancing capabilities and culture to embed a quality and food safety mindset, and enabling continuous improvement to elevate our performance.
Management
Our quality and food safety system, anchored at the group level, sets the policy, strategy and direction, empowering every employee to take personal responsibility for food safety and quality, particularly at the operational level. Category managing directors, together with their operations directors and plant managers, are accountable for implementing and executing the system. The chief manufacturing officer, supported by the group quality and food safety director, governs this system, with ultimate oversight residing with the board through the risk and sustainability committee.
Raising the floor
All our food manufacturing operations comply with the Global Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000 standard, recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). Additionally, all operations conduct GFSI self-assessments quarterly. Our Home and Personal Care (HPC) manufacturing operations are ISO 9001 certified. The IT system we are implementing over three years will enhance reporting capabilities, enabling compliance with disclosure requirements related to GFSI audit conformance, corrective actions and supplier certifications.
As part of our certification commitments, we regularly conduct internal audits and risk assessments across all manufacturing facilities to address and mitigate identified risks. These assessments cover products, processes, equipment and infrastructure. Last year, we reviewed our risk assessment process and initiated a new audit process aligned with the American Institute of Baking (AIB) Standard for specific food categories. Although the AIB Standard is not GFSI-recognised, it is a rigorous and credible audit standard, focusing on the production environment and operational aspects, complementing our FSSC 22000 certification. The auditing of all food manufacturing sites against the AIB Standard continued in 2024, with all remaining sites set for completion by November 2024. Action plans to close gaps identified in these audits are ongoing and closely monitored.
All our suppliers, especially third-party manufacturers, must hold food safety certification, ideally recognised by GFSI, such as FSSC 22000, British Retail Consortium (BRC) Global Standards, International Featured Standard (IFS), or Safe Quality Food (SQF) programme. At a minimum, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) certification is conditionally accepted. In 2024, all third-party logistics warehouses remained certified against the BRC Global Standard for warehousing and distribution.
We have well-defined supplier quality management processes and recently strengthened our risk assessment procedures, expanding coverage to include raw materials, packaging, manufacturing, hygienic design, cleaning, sanitation, finished products and monitoring and validation. Our supplier quality assurance (SQA) process is supported by multi-disciplinary internal teams and external expert consultants to address gaps and drive improvements. In 2024, we conducted numerous audits, particularly of third-party manufacturers producing finished products for Tiger Brands, following our annual supplier audit plan, which covers both local and international suppliers.
Our product testing capabilities
We conduct all necessary product testing through a combination of in-house and outsourced facilities. Our central micro laboratory, which handles microbiological testing of product samples from our inland factories, is accredited by the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) to the ISO 17025 standard.
Our key testing activities include:
Enhancing capabilities and culture
The new Tiger Brands operating model introduced in 2024 has brought further changes to our quality and food safety structures and capabilities, including the Centre of Excellence (CoE), shifting more ownership and accountability to the category and site levels, decentralising it from the CoE.
Our quality and food safety structure focuses on five distinct functional areas: food safety management, quality management, supplier quality management, category quality management and go-to-market quality management. New roles introduced across these areas in 2023 – including microbiologist, hygienist manager, food safety specialist, food safety regulatory specialist, sensory specialist, quality systems specialist, go-to-market specialist and supplier quality specialist – have significantly contributed to defining new processes, improving governance and providing critical support to our manufacturing sites.
Regular staff training remains pivotal to our strategy for effective food safety and quality management. Ongoing training is provided through our e-learning platform and onsite at all manufacturing plants, with targeted training delivered as needed. Our collaboration with the Centre for Food Safety at Stellenbosch University continues, including an annual lecture series for our technical teams delivered by leading academics. In 2024, we implemented various training interventions, including the AIB Standard audit training, sensory evaluation, training on key quality and food safety standards, supplier training and employee training on the new quality IT system. We also hold monthly "town hall" meetings with the entire food safety and quality team to review performance, address challenges and streamline our ways of working.
To foster a culture of continuous improvement, we conducted a food safety and quality culture survey at 15 sites, including our head office. The survey identified three key areas for improvement: training, investment and reward. Action plans were developed at each participating site to address these gaps and progress is being tracked closely. In August 2024, we completed the survey at all remaining sites and we are currently consolidating the feedback reports. A similar process of communication and action planning will follow to drive improvement. We also continue to celebrate the Food Safety Week (June) and Quality Week (November) across the organisation, in line with global calendars. 2024 marks the third consecutive year that Tiger Brands has recognised and celebrated these key events.
Raising the bar
Our food quality management system integrates the Manufacturing Excellence Customs and Practices (MECP) framework, serving as a roadmap to achieving manufacturing excellence by benchmarking our maturity against industry best practices. MECP has been implemented through foundational pillars, including quality. The quality pillar provides tools and guidelines for systematising daily management practices at our operations, covering standard practices, target setting, assessments and reporting.
Now in the third year of implementing this framework, we have established foundational pillars at 10 priority sites: Culinary Boksburg, Davita, Pasta, King Foods, Jungle Oats, Albany Germiston, Baby Nutrition, Isando Beverages and S&T Mobeni. The rollout of the MECP quality pillar is progressing well at these priority sites. Additionally, we have begun implementing quality standard practices at non-priority sites to prepare for MECP expansion across all locations.
The Centre for Food Safety at Stellenbosch University
The Centre for Food Safety is an applied food-science research consortium where Stellenbosch University researchers collaborate with the food industry and other stakeholders to address real-world food safety challenges. Launched in 2018 by Stellenbosch University in partnership with Tiger Brands, we continue to support the centre's efforts to advance food safety knowledge and practices in South Africa. Our ongoing collaboration includes projects such as microbiological risk assessments, independent food safety research and advisory support. We are also exploring further areas for collaboration, including agrisciences, sensory science, expanded microbiology support and additional training and expertise opportunities.
We have set measurable product safety and quality objectives across all operations and at the group level to drive continuous improvement and ensure compliance with standards.
Performance is monitored against these annual targets through a standardised quality scorecard, implemented across all sites and categories, with monthly performance reporting.
Performance
Over the last six years, we have significantly strengthened our quality and food safety systems and continue to build on this progress. However, in the first quarter of 2024, we faced challenges in customer satisfaction, with overall complaints increasing by 25% compared to the same period in the previous year. The key categories contributing to this increase were Grains, Culinary and Beverages.
In response, we implemented site-specific action plans to address these issues, with weekly oversight meetings to track progress. This focused effort has led to significant improvements in complaint rates since Q2. For 2024 overall, we achieved 2,85 complaints per million units sold, representing a 4% decrease from 2023. We experienced no product recalls and received no notices from government authorities regarding regulatory food safety violations.
Quality performance scorecard 2024
Target
Key
Better than target
Worse than target, but better than prior year
Worse than target and prior year
2024 update on the listeriosis class action lawsuit
The class action against the company arising from the outbreak of listeriosis was certified by the High Court (Gauteng Local Division, Johannesburg) on 3 December 2018. Summons were issued against Tiger Brands on 16 April 2019. The company filed its plea on 8 August 2019, which was subsequently amended in May 2024 following amendments to the plaintiffs' particulars of claim effected in January 2024.
Since the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), handed down on 4 February 2022, overturned the June 2020 decision of the High Court compelling various third parties – including the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the South African Bureau of Standards, two accredited national laboratories and select meat producers – to provide epidemiological information required for the class action lawsuit, the parties have continued to attend to pre-trial preparations. These include the discovery of documents and records relevant to the class action in terms of the Rules of Court to get the matter ready for trial for the court to determine liability. A trial date will be allocated by the court once all these pre-trial preparations have been completed.
As part of an overall endeavour to expedite resolution of the class action, in January 2023, the attorneys representing the company and its insurers (the company's attorneys) and the plaintiffs' attorneys jointly approached the NICD for access to their records relevant to the listeriosis outbreak. These records are vital to a determination of liability. In January 2024, the NICD released the so-called FASTQ files to the plaintiffs' attorneys with some data but not all the data in the NICD's possession relating to their investigation of the listeriosis outbreak. The files were shared with the company's attorneys in February 2024 for review by their appointed experts. The experts' review of the data is at an advanced stage.
The company's attorneys have engaged with the plaintiffs' attorneys to agree on relief for qualifying individuals with urgent medical needs, although liability has not yet been determined. In addition, the legal representatives are engaging on measures to arrive at a speedier resolution of the class action overall.
The company is committed to working diligently to bring the listeriosis class action to a close as quickly as possible.
The company has product liability insurance cover appropriate for a group of its size. Coverage is subject to the terms and limits of the policy. The company's insurers have advised that the product liability policy does not include cover for exemplary or punitive damages should such an award be made by the court. Should such an award be made (or for constitutional damages), the product liability policy will not cover that portion of the award which relates to damages that are not compensatory in nature. The company has reserved its rights in this regard.