BC Man’s Death Linked To Listeria Outbreak

Four Canadians are dead and many more are sick, all courtesy of a nationwide outbreak of listeria.

Three of those deaths have occurred in Ontario, and a fourth victim has been confirmed as a British Columbia man who passed away in July. The 64-year-old was hospitalized with other underlying health conditions, but may have consumed tainted meat.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials claim that they could know as early as Saturday whether there’s a link between the fatalities and a Maple Leaf Foods recall that involved 23 products.

It comes on the same day the CFIA released a new warning, this one specific to Toronto:

Shopsy’s Deli-Fresh Classic Reuben Sandwiches were sold in a 180 gram package with best before dates of up to and including August 22 and August 24 and the UPC code 7 76393 17001 8.

A small number of the sandwiches were sold at locations in Toronto. There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of the sandwiches. It contains sliced corned beef, one of the ready-to-eat deli meat products recalled by Maple Leaf Foods earlier this month.

Where Were They Sold?

• Shoppers Drug Mart, 390 Queens Quay
• Shoppers Drug Mart, 388 King St. W.
• Shoppers Drug Mart, 10 Dundas St.
• Shoppers Drug Mart, 465 Yonge St.
• Shoppers Drug Mart, 4990 Yonge St.
• Shoppers Drug Mart, 5776 Yonge St.
• Bloor Superfresh Mart, 186 Bloor St.

There are 17 cases confirmed across Canada: 13 in Ontario, two in B.C., one in Saskatchewan and one in Quebec. Medical officers of health are continuing to investigate 38 suspected cases across the country and warn that more cases are likely.

Maple Leaf Foods was forced to issue a massive recall of a large number of its deli meats, sold primarily to restaurants and nursing homes, and to close down its Toronto plant after the presence of listeria was discovered there.

“Since the beginning of the [Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s] investigation into the listeria outbreak, we’ve been working very closely with public health officials, the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada to determine the potential role of food and its source in the listeria-related illnesses that were originally reported in Ontario and now elsewhere,” Dr. Richard Arsenault of the CFIA explained Friday

Symptoms of Listeria

• high fever
• severe headache
• neck stiffness
• nausea

For more on Toronto Public Health’s response to this outbreak, click here.

Find more on listeria here

Are you at risk for Listeriosis?

For more information, consumers and industry can call one of the following numbers:

Maple Leaf Consumer Foods at 1-800-568-5801
CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8am – 8pm ET, Monday to Friday).

For information on Listeria monocytogenes, click here.

Recall Information

The following ready-to-eat meat products bearing an Est. # 97B are affected by this alert:

McDonald’s Sliced Cooked Turkey Breast
6 x 470g
UPC – 10063100263659
Product code – 26365
All best before dates up to and including 08SE30

(Note: McDonald’s has announced it’s temporarily pulling its Turkey BLT from its menus in Canada until the issue is resolved. Mr. Sub has also pulled the affected meats.)

Schneiders Bavarian smokies
8 x 1kg
UPC – 0 64844 02105 8
Product code – 02106
Dates up to and including 08OC28

Schneiders Cheddar smokies
8 x 1kg
UPC – 0 64844 02124 9
Product code – 02126
Dates up to and including 08OC28

ML Sure Slice Roast Beef
3 x 1kg
UPC – 10063100213333
Product code – 21333
Dates up to and including 08SE30

ML Sure Slice Combo Pack
3 x 1kg
UPC – 10063100213883
Product code – 21388
Dates up to and including 08SE30

Deli Gourmet Roast Beef Slices
6 x 1kg
UPC – 10000000602430
Product code – 60243
Dates up to and including 08SE30

Mr. Sub Seasoned Cooked Roast Beef
12 x 500g
UPC – 10063100023567
Product code – 02356
Dates up to and including 08OC07

MSD Roast Beef, Seasoned and Cooked
6 x 500g
UPC – 10063100427068
Product code – 42706
Dates up to and including 08OC07

ML Sure Slice Turkey Breast Roast Slice
3 x 1kg
UPC – 10063100213340
Product code – 21334
Dates up to and including 08OC14

ML Sure Slice Corned Beef
3 x 1kg
UPC – 10063100214446
Product code – 21444
Dates up to and including 08OC14

MSD Montreal Style Corned Beef
6 x 500g
UPC – 10063100449381
Product code: 44938
Dates up to and including 08OC14

ML Sure Slice Black Forest Style Ham
3 x 1kg
UPC – 10063100214408
Product code – 21440
Dates up to and including 08OC21

ML Sure Slice Salami
3 x 1kg
UPC – 10063100214477
Product code – 21447
Dates up to and including 08OC21

ML Sure Slice Smoked Ham
3 x 1kg
UPC – 10063100213319
Product code – 21331
Dates up to and including 08OC21

Schneiders Deli Shaved Corned Beef
8 x 200g
UPC – 0 62000 48019 0
Product code – 48019
Dates up to and including 08OC21

Schneiders Deli Shaved Smoked Meat
8 x 200g
UPC – 0 62000 48020 6
Product code – 48020
Dates up to and including 08OC21

Schneiders Deli Shaved Smoked Ham
8 x 200g
UPC – 0 62000 48016 9
Product code – 48016
Dates up to and including 08OC21

Schneiders Deli Shaved Smoked Turkey Breast
8 x 150g
UPC – 0 62000 48018 3
Product code – 48018
Dates up to and including 08OC21

Schneiders Deli Shaved Fully Cooked Smoked Honey Ham
8 x 200g
UPC – 0 62000 48017 6
Product code – 48017
Dates up to and including 08OC21

Burns Bites Pepperoni
12 x 500g
UPC – 0 63100 21360 2
Product code – 21360
Dates up to and including 09JA01

ML Turkey Breast Roast
12 x 1kg
UPC – 10063100991583
Product code – 99158
Dates up to and including 08SE30

FS Roast Beef Cooked, Seasoned
4 x 2.5kg
UPC – 10064875713301
Product code – 71330
Dates up to and including 08SE30

FS Corned Beef, Smoked Meat
4 x 2.5kg
UPC – 10064875713318
Product code – 71331
Dates up to and including 08SE30

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