Maple Leaf recalls meat, shuts plant

Ontario confirms one dead, dozens sick from bacteria

by: Linda Nguyen, Tiffany Crawford, and Becky Rynor, with files from Allison Cross , Canwest News Service and Vancouver Sun

Two northern B.C. residents are sick as a result of eating meat contaminated with the potentially deadly bacterium listeria monocytogenes, a doctor from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control confirmed on Wednesday. The confirmation comes as a spreading outbreak of the bacteria has left one person dead and dozens more sick across Canada.

The illnesses are suspected to be linked to ready-to-eat deli meats produced at Maple Leaf Consumer Food's Toronto plant since June 2 and distributed to fast-food restaurants, institutions, nursing homes, hospitals and supermarket delis across Canada.

A majority of those who got sick are believed to have eaten the same food in nursing homes and hospitals in July, the Public Health Agency of Canada said. The average age of the sick is 65.

The products have been recalled and Maple Leaf Consumer Foods, which this week issued a nationwide recall of tainted packaged meat products, launched special sanitation procedures at its Toronto meat processing plant Thursday.


Crews will be sanitizing two processing lines that were used to make deli meats that have tested positive for low levels of the potentially deadly bacterium Listeria monocytogenes.


The recall, which began Sunday in conjunction with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, initially only included two varieties of packaged meat after some of the products tested positive for low levels of the bacteria found in the environment.

On Wednesday, the meat recall was expanded to include 23 ready-to-eat deli meats.

Sonya Kruger, a spokeswoman for the Northern Health Authority, said the B.C. patients confirmed to have been affected by the meat were already in hospital when they fell ill. One of the patients lives in Prince George and the other in Fort St. John, and they were in different hospitals when the illness hit.

Three other suspected cases in B.C. are under investigation.

So far, there is no evidence of a link between the death in Ontario and the meat recall, other than they both involve the same bacteria.

In confirming the connection between the recalled meat and the illnesses in B.C., Dr. Eleni Galanis, with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, said: "First, [the B.C. residents] have the same strain as the outbreak strain that has been identified in Ontario and second they have been exposed to the foods that are under recall."

She said the B.C. patients are still undergoing treatment. "They are adults, not elderly, but they both have underlying conditions that put them at higher risk."

The patients got sick in June and July, Galanis said, but she was not able to say whether they are still in hospital.

B.C. sees about 10 to 12 listeria cases every year, she said.

Galanis said it is likely the recalled products have been distributed throughout B.C. and the Centre for Disease Control is working with the food inspection agency to ensure all customers of Maple Leaf are made aware of the recall.

Restaurants, grocery stores, nursing homes and other possible consumers of the products will be phoned or visited to ensure the meat is out of their meals and off their shelves, she said.

"This is a very high-profile recall with a high-profile company," Galanis said. "We have every confidence their communication channels are working. "The average consumer ... can check in their fridges for the recalled meat, which they can return to stores or just discard," she said.

Some deli meats are repackaged at the grocery store and won't bear the brand name, she said, so consumers should call the store or simply throw the meat in the garbage.

There have been 29 cases across Canada associated with the outbreak in 17 health units. Of these, 13 are confirmed cases, and the rest are probable and suspect cases under investigation by local health units.

Ontario's chief medical officer of health on Wednesday confirmed the person who died lived in the province, but would not provide further details.

Dr. David C. Williams warned residents to be vigilant about what meat they consume.

"I strongly advise the public, especially those at high risk for listeriosis, such as the elderly, pregnant women and those with weak immune systems, to make sure they avoid consuming these products," said Williams, referring to the recalled meat.

The public is being warned not to eat sliced turkey breast at McDonald's, seasoned cooked roast beef at Mr. Sub sandwich shops, certain lots of Sure Slice brand roast beef and corned beef, and a variety of other products, including Schneiders smoked honey ham, corned beef, smoked meat and Bavarian meats.

Mark Nesbitt, spokesman for Ontario Health, said officials were contacting all long-term care homes and hospitals to confirm they are aware of the recall.

"There hasn't been any confirmation and the testing is ongoing. It's quite difficult because listeria has an incubation period between two and 30 days and it has been up to 90 days," he said.

"We're all jumping in and trying to get to the bottom of it. [The investigation] is very complex and involved and it takes lot of old-fashioned detective work."

Maple Leaf said it shut its plant so all food-safety procedures can be reviewed.

Louis Payette, a spokeswoman for McDonald's said the restaurant chain has stopped selling its turkey BLT sandwich, the only menu item affected by the recall.
© Vancouver Sun 2008


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