Tag Archives: Maple Leaf

Maple Leaf cold-cuts confirmed as listeria source in Canada: at least 5 dead, dozens ill

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Canwest News Service is first out of the block, citing a senior government official as saying Saturday that testing has confirmed that an outbreak of listeriosis that has claimed at least four lives – and probably several more — across Canada has now been positively linked to processed meats produced at Maple Leaf Consumer Foods.

Earlier Saturday, the Public Health Agency of Canada upped to 21 the number of cases of a deadly listeriosis outbreak that have been confirmed so far in four provinces. The agency said in a statement that 16 of the cases were found in Ontario, three in British Columbia, and one each in Saskatchewan and in Quebec.
Three deaths in Ontario – St. Catharines, Hamilton and Waterloo – have been officially tied to the deadly strain of the food-borne listeria bacterium, and a fourth death on Vancouver Island has also been attributed to the strain.

The public health agency also said a further 30 suspected cases remain under investigation. Of those, 14 are in Ontario, eight are in Quebec, four are in Alberta and two each are in B.C. and Saskatchewan.

So, with the positive ID, will Canadian politicians and bureaucrats keep smugly bragging about their wonderful system for foodborne disease surveillance?

It’s impossible to tell from the various public statements who became sick when, and whether the system really worked or not. If you’re going to brag about how the system is working, you have to provide dates for onset of illness and deaths. Those dates have not been provided. Take a look at the updates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control concerning the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak and compare that with what comes out of various Canadian agencies. There is no comparison.

Tell the public what you know, what you don’t know, and what you’re doing to find out more.
 

Death toll from listeria in Canada climbs

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Depending on what sources are cited, there are now four confirmed deaths in Ontario and one in B.C. from the same strain of listeria. Several more deaths are being investigated, and the number of ill will continue to rise.

The spin that various social actors and politicians are putting on this listeria outbreak is beyond gross – it’s set a new low for unwarranted aggrandizing.

While preparing to do a live interview with CBC NewsWorld on Thurs., the host introduced the program by saying that the first case of listeria was in a 36-year-old pregnant woman in late June. As a pregnant Amy looked on – she’s very supportive of my media activities and viciously edits much of my writing, and vice-versa – I tried not to go, WTF, as the cameras were rolling.

So I’m baffled why various politicians and health types are bragging about how well the system worked to identify this outbreak.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said Friday that it was Ontario that "blew the whistle," stating,

"We’ve put in place a new system that allows us to detect an outbreak and to see a pattern very early in the game. I’m glad we got hold of it early and now we’ll take serious steps working with the feds to put it behind us."

Robert Clarke, the assistant deputy minister of the Public Health Agency of Canada, said Friday that the government’s actions in this case were quite rapid and an illustration of success.

"The fact that it actually moved along, got investigated, ended up at CFIA and others finding samples that were positive in the food was actually quite fast in terms of how these things could progress.”

Premier and PHAC dude, two months after the first case is not an early warning system. And while you’re blowing yourselves, how about a little empathy for the sick and dead?

On Friday, Michael McCain, president of Maple Leaf Foods, published  a full-page open letter in major Canadian newspapers, stressing the steps the company has taken, including a voluntary recall of 23 meat products.

In an internal e-mail to Maple Leaf employees Thursday morning, McCain said,

“I’m sure most of you have read the newspapers and listened to the TV or radio reports like I have. This isn’t something we should ever want to be in the news about, but we have no reason to hang our heads – we’re doing what is the right thing to do in this situation…acting responsibly and with extraordinary precaution.

“The headlines certainly suggest that our product are the cause of the illness and single death reported. It is important to note that:

• Listeria exists all around us in our environment, all the time. 10% of us carry it on us (according to some reports), and it exists in broad types of food in small percentages.
• Listeriosis, caused by Listeria Monocytogenes, occurs regularly (some 60 cases per year in Canada), and is mostly effecting the immune deficient (see previous descriptions), and very sadly people do die from this who are susceptible
• All we know factually is this….we have had three small samples of two items test positive for LM, and that Public Health tell us there is an increase in listeriosis illness all connected to a single DNA pattern, with one related death. We DO NOT have factual linkage that these are related to our product, although we could not say it is impossible, given our own positive (albeit small sample) test result. Again, there is no factual linkage we are aware of.
• That is why we took the dramatic action we did – recall all the product (ALL – not just the products in question) from these lines, and shut down the plant for a "deep clean". These were precautionary measures, all made with the most conservative view in mind – well beyond what the CFIA was asking of us.
• The CFIA and Public Health are continuing their investigation.

Of course the media will extend that, and we expected this.”

Did you expect that more people would die? Did you or do you warn pregnant women about the risks associated with consuming your products?

Also, the Globe and Mail reports in Saturday’s edition that four days before Maple Leaf Foods Inc. warned the public that two varieties of sliced meat may have been contaminated with listeria, the company told its distributors to stop shipping three different products and that federal health authorities were investigating its Toronto plant.

On Aug. 13, Maple Leaf sent a letter to its distributors requesting that, as a precautionary measure, they stop shipping the company’s Sure Slice roast beef, corned beef and Black Forest ham because the processing plant in Toronto where the meat was produced was under investigation by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

On Aug. 17, Maple Leaf recalled its Sure Slice roast beef and corned beef after the roast beef tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes, a food-borne bacterium that can cause serious illness in pregnant women and the elderly.

Then on Aug. 20, after being informed that both the Sure Slice roast beef and corned beef tested positive for listeria in later tests, the company recalled more than 20 deli meats and shut down its Toronto plant for sanitization.

CFIA says they may have some DNA fingerprint results Saturday (its not that hard, some kids figured out half the high-scale fish in New York was bogus). This outbreak is not an early warning system working, it’s a mess. At some point, the politicians and bureaucrats may realize that several people died and dozens are sick unnecessarily. The advice to pregnant women in Canada remains shamefully inadequate.
 

Seven deaths, dozens of illness investigated in Canadian listeria outbreak: pregnant women reminded of risks

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My wife is six months pregnant and she hasn’t had deli meats or smoked salmon or other refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods for six months.

That’s because the bacterium listeria is fairly much everywhere, difficult to control, and grows in the refrigerator. It also causes stillbirths in pregnant women, who are about 20 times more likely to contract the bug than other adults.

The banter in Canada about government or industry taking the lead on food inspection, whether food should be produced in large or small places, is misguided at best and more likely, political opportunism.

There’s a lot of sick people out there and more to be uncovered. Listeria happens, but why did it take the Canadian authorities and industry seven weeks to issue advisories?

It seems part of a pattern of don’t ask, don’t tell, at least until it’s obvious to a whole bunch of others; there are questions about who knew what when.

Epidemiology, the association of something with disease – in this case, deli meats from Maple Leaf – was strong enough for the B.C. Centre For Disease Control to announce a link and a warning, while Ontario stayed mum. Why the difference? These folks are all PhDs in something, what’s going on?

Long before the current outbreak, the advice from the Canadian government about listeria was mushy:

“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.”

The advice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is clear: Do not eat hot dogs, luncheon meats, or deli meats, unless they are reheated.

It has been documented that many pregnant women are not aware of the risks associated with consuming refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods like cold cuts.

Whatever the outcome of the Canadian listeria outbreak, it’s time for Canadian bureaucrats to stop dancing and provide straight advice to consumers. Other countries do it.

1 dead, dozens sickened in Canadian listeria outbreak: some questions

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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.

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