Amy is 6 months pregnant: An outbreak of listeria in Canada which has killed one and sickened dozens, is exactly why she hasn’t eaten any cold cuts or smoked salmon for the past six months.
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It has been thoroughly documented that many pregnant women are not aware of the risks associated with consuming refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods like cold cuts. Nor does the literary dancing from various Canadian spokesthingies inspire confidence.
About 3 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 17/08, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Maple Leaf Consumer Foods issued an advisory warning the public not to serve or consume Sure Slice brand Roast Beef and Corned Beef because these products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
The press statement said,
“There have been no confirmed illnesses associated with the consumption of these products.”
Usually, CFIA press releases say there have been no illnesses associated with the product in question, if that is indeed the case. The “confirmed illness” was a wiggle phrase that Canadian media dutifully reported and then went back to sleep.
Then, about 4 a.m. Wednesday Aug. 20/08, another press release arrived from CFIA, this time announcing that Maple Leaf was voluntarily recalling everything from the suspect Toronto plant and that,
“… a number of the affected products … are part of a listeriosis outbreak investigation.”
About the same time, Maple Leaf Foods put out a press release stating,
“A small number of Sure Slice packaged meat products produced at the Company’s Bartor Road, Toronto facility, predominantly for foodservice customers, have tested positive to contain low levels of listeria monocytogenes.”
Always good to get someone else to read stuff to catch grammatical errors, but there may not always be time.
And maybe it wasn’t that small of a contamination, because Wednesday afternoon, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health advised the public that there is an outbreak of Listeriosis in the province.
“In July 2008, routine surveillance conducted by the Ministry detected a marked increase in cases of Listeriosis being reported by Ontario health units.
“As of yesterday, there have been 29 cases associated with the outbreak across 17 health units. Of these, 13 are confirmed cases, and the rest are probable and suspect cases which are under investigation by the local health units. Outbreak associated cases of Listeriosis have also been reported in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Quebec. Ontario is working with the Public Health Agency of Canada and the other provinces in the investigation.”
Yet, as reported by Canwest News Service, health officials in Ontario would not confirm a link between the cases and the recall. Dr. Eleni Galanis with the B.C. Centre For Disease Control said officials in that province had interviewed the two confirmed cases and were satisfied there was sufficient evidence to show a link.
"First, they 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. It does seem that they are linked."
Galanis, who said B.C. is also reviewing three more suspected cases, said she was particularly concerned for people with compromised immune systems and pregnant women.
"In pregnant women it could result in still birth," she said.
Despite the words of Dr. Galanis, the story has spun into political nonsense, with the two major political parties throwing barbs at each other, and one University of Guelph type defending small agriculture by saying,
“That’s not to say that a small butcher can’t make mistakes, but at best, he’s going to kill off a few of his neighbours. When you take that same mistake and you put it into a plant that serves millions, the risk is vastly expanded.”
Wow. There’s a whole bunch of sick people out there. That’s where the focus should be. And then, journos should ask, at what point did health authorities make an epidemiological link to Maple Leaf cold cuts? Would some illnesses have been prevented if the warning Sunday morning had been expanded? What is the process used to decide when to issue public warnings? How much evidence is enough?
Oh, and the CFIA advice if you are pregnant or have a weakened immune system?
“Although the risk of listeriosis associated with foods from deli counters, such as sliced packaged meat and poultry products, is relatively low, pregnant women and immunosuppressed persons may choose to avoid these foods.”
Here’s the advice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control for persons at high risk, such as pregnant women and persons with weakened immune systems:
• Do not eat hot dogs, luncheon meats, or deli meats, unless they are reheated until steaming hot.???-Avoid getting fluid from hot dog packages on other foods, utensils, and food preparation surfaces, and wash hands after handling hot dogs, luncheon meats, and deli meats.???
• Do not eat soft cheeses such as feta, Brie, and Camembert, blue-veined cheeses, or Mexican-style cheeses such as queso blanco, queso fresco, and Panela, unless they have labels that clearly state they are made from pastuerized milk.???
• Do not eat refrigerated pâtés or meat spreads. Canned or shelf-stable pâtés and meat spreads may be eaten.???-Do not eat refrigerated smoked seafood, unless it is contained in a cooked dish, such as a casserole. Refrigerated smoked seafood, such as salmon, trout, whitefish, cod, tuna or mackerel, is most often labeled as "nova-style," "lox," "kippered," "smoked," or "jerky." The fish is found in the refrigerator section or sold at deli counters of grocery stores and delicatessens. Canned or shelf-stable smoked seafood may be eaten.
The USDA risk assessment for listeria is ready-to-eat foods is available here
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/97-013F/ListeriaReport.pdf
and one from the World Health Organization is here
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/micro/mra_listeria/en/index.html