Canada confused about listeria

Canada is so complacent that when a leading hospital provides terrible food safety advice, no one notices.

Although Canada’s track record with ridiculous things said involving listeria is hard to match.

There’s a recall of some pre-cooked meat products going on right now. No one is apparently sick, but this is how Canada’s version of state-sponsored jazz reported the event:

CBC News says a Winnipeg food processor is recalling its pre-cooked meat products after an Alberta customer raised concerns about possible contamination with listeria bacteria.

Smith’s Quality Meats, which sells in provinces from British Columbia to Ontario, has voluntarily pulled a wide variety of its products from shelves.

I’m not sure customer is the best word. Maybe the customer walked into the store with those magic I-can-see-listeria goggles.

Smith’s spokesman Andy Van Patter said,

"The discovery was made on one product at one location in Alberta through testing performed by our customer. There [is] no indication that other products are affected."

Oh, Smith’s supplied the meat to someone and they tested it and got a listeria positive. Got it.

CTV News reported that people with weak immune systems, pregnant women and the elderly are most at risk from listeriosis.

Unless you’re a medical professional at Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital, where there is no risk of listeria to pregnant women or the elderly as long as food is bought from reputable sources. Their words, not mine.
 

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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time