Maple Leaf Expands Recall After Products Linked To Deaths

Just hours after its products were linked to the Listeriosis outbreak that has killed four Canadians, Maple Leaf Foods extended its already existing meat recall.

In a press release, the company announced that in a voluntary extension to the current recall,  all items produced at the Bartor Road facility (Establishment No. 97B) will be pulled off the shelves as a precautionary measure. They can be identified by the Est. # 97B marking found near the best before date. Maple Leaf added that “notwithstanding the fact that there is no evidence of Listeria contamination in product beyond the production lines originally under investigation.”

To see the full list of recalled items, click here.

The company says it make take three to five days for all of the items to disappear off shelves across Canada.

However, she said, the process of determining where the product landed after it was purchased by distributors — such as in hospitals or retirement homes — has been more complex.

“There is a very active effort to work with all the food distribution customers. But it is not as direct, because there are customers, and then those customers have customers,” she said.

“We are very confident but I cannot give you a percentage but virtually all of it has been removed.”

The move came after days of speculation that the bacteria was linked to tainted meat.

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz confirmed the connection Saturday. Lab results from Health Canada and officials from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed that listeriosis bacteria found in two samples of recalled meat products from Maple Leaf’s Toronto plant match the strain found to have infected almost two-dozen Canadians so far.

Officials confirm 17 other people are sick from the same strain. There are 38 more suspected cases are being investigated across Canada. As several businesses are pulling the company’s food from their shelves, Maple Leaf’s plant in Toronto has been closed down for inspection and sanitation.

The initial closure was only supposed to last four days. Now, it’s not certain when the plant will reopen. President and CEO of Maple Leaf Michael McCain reported Sunday that cleanup efforts are going well, and plant is expected to reopen as early as Tuesday, depending on the results of the tests being done. The plant’s closure and recall is expected to cost the company about $20 million, ten times the originally estimated expense.

Although the evidence of recent testing is enough to show that the meat contained the same strain of Listeria as those who fell ill, testing will continue next week.

It’s unknown exactly what this latest revelation will mean for those who are sick.

“This is the toughest situation that we’ve faced in the 100 years of this company’s history. We know that this has shaken confidence in us,” McCain said Saturday. “To the families who have lost loved ones, I want to extend my deepest and most sincere condolences.”

The recall has understandably worried consumers, who are giving a second look to deli meats they see on store shelves.

“The scare and people dying, until somebody can tell me concrete that it’s no in the cold cuts, I’m not interested,” laughs grocery shopper Bruce Pallett.

Because the bug’s incubation period is so long – up to 70 days – officials believe many more cases will emerge in the coming weeks. Listeriosis, which can cause high fever, severe headache and nausea, is particularly dangerous for the elderly, pregnant women and those with compromised immune systems.

Most of the cases connected to this outbreak have been reported in people 50 and over.

Eating Listeria-laced foods can be dangerous among those who are vulnerable to it – the elderly, those with compromised immune systems, and the unborn fetuses of pregnant women. Anyone considered high-risk who suspects they’ve eaten contaminated meat should see their doctor just in case.

Listeria can cause blood poisoning and potentially meningitis or encephalitis.

Those in the Toronto area have one more item to worry about. On Saturday, the CFIA announced that a sandwich available at drug stores may also be infected.

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.

This does not affect Shopsy’s restaurants.

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