South Africa’s biggest food manufacturer made an immediate recall of 20 million Koo and Hugo’s canned vegetable products, on Monday 26 July regarding safety concerns due to possibilities of faulty cans.

Tiger brand announced that the cans recalled may leak, after discovering 18 cans at a tiger brand facility. The damaged batch was reserved however the company believes some cans from the faulty batch were distributed.

After conducting transport and handling tests on 287,040 cans, a side seam leak occurred on two cans. This incident ignited the recall of the affected products.

Due to this incident, the company announced they may lose up to R650 million. This is a huge blow after manufacturing companies were paralyzed by the listeriosis outbreak 2 years ago.

“A leak in a can presents a risk of secondary microbial contamination after canned products are dispatched into the marketplace. Where such contamination occurs, it will present a low probability of illness and injury if the contaminated product is consumed” explained tiger brand in a statement, regarding the dangers of the faulty products.