Maple Leaf Recall

[Beast Master]

One person has died and at least 16 others are sick from an outbreak of listeriosis, public health officials confirmed Wednesday as Maple Leaf Foods temporarily shut down a Toronto plant and expanded a recall of nearly two dozen packaged, ready-to-eat meat products.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said it is working with health officials in four provinces along with Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to establish any possible link between the outbreak and the affected products.
Maple Leaf said Wednesday it was recalling all products prepared at the plant since June 2 and temporarily closing the factory to re-evaluate its food safety procedures.

These producst have been used primarily by commercial institutions such as Subway, and McDonalds in their BLT and they say symptoms can take up to 3 months to appear.

On Sunday, the meat packer announced it had discovered listeria bacteria in Sure Slice roast beef and corned beef produced at the Toronto facility and issued a recall on those products. Some 23 products, including a variety of turkey, smoked meat and roast beef products, have been recalled.
Brand names for some of the recalled products include Schneiders, Sure Slice, Deli Gourmet and Burns Bites. A complete list of affected products is available on both the Maple Leaf Foods website and that of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The 23 products involved in the expanded recall carry an establishment number of 97B and have best-before dates ranging from Sept. 30 to Jan. 1, 2009.
The complete list of affected products, including individual product codes and expiry dates, is as follows:
26365, Sliced Cooked Turkey Breast, 470 grams, Sept. 30;
02106, Schneiders Bavarian Smokies, 1 kilogram, Oct. 28;
02126, Schneiders Cheddar Smokies, 1 kilogram, Oct. 28;
21333, Sure Slice Roast Beef, 1 kilogram, Sept. 30;
21388, Sure Slice Combo Pack, 1 kilogram, Sept. 30;
60243, Deli Gourmet Roast Beef slices, 1 kilogram, Sept. 30;
02356, Seasoned Cooked Roast Beef, 500 grams, Oct. 7;
42706, Roast Beef, Seasoned and Cooked, 500 grams, Oct. 7;
21334, Sure Slice Turkey Breast Roast, 1 kilogram, Oct. 14;
21444, Sure Slice Corned Beef, 1 kilogram, Oct. 14;
44938, Montreal Style Corned Beef, 500 grams, Oct. 14;
21440, Sure Slice Black Forest Style Ham, 1 kilogram, Oct. 21;
21447, Sure Slice Salami, 1 kilogram, Oct. 21;
21331, Sure Slice Smoked Ham, 1 kilogram, Oct. 21;
48019, Schneiders Deli Shaved Corned Beef, 200 grams, Oct. 21;
48020, Schneiders Deli Shaved Smoked Meat, 200 grams, Oct. 21;
48016, Schneiders Deli Shaved Smoked Ham , 200 grams, Oct. 21;
48018, Schneiders Deli Shaved Smoked Turkey Breast, 150 grams, Oct. 21;
48017, Schneiders Deli Shaved Fully Cooked Smoked Honey Ham, 200 grams, Oct. 21;
21360, Burns Bites Pepperoni, 500 grams, Jan. 21, 2009;
99158, Turkey Breast Roast, 1 kilogram, Sept. 30;
71330, Roast Beef Cooked, Seasoned, 2.5 kilograms, Sept. 30;
71331 Corned Beef, Smoked Meat, 2.5 kilograms, Sept. 30.

[elliott_gyal]

ohmygosh i can see a huge uproar and sueing in the near future

[jenna321]

How awful someone has died, hopefully this will be on the news tonight, that's a big recall an expensive hit to Maple Leaf never mind the fact of someone's loved one dying.

[harkatsmom]

Wow, never even heard of this until now...

The symptoms may take 3 months to appear...
This is just scary!!!

Thanks for the post BM

[Kitty77]

Thanks for Posting BM!

[zameluzza]

Wow, never even heard of this until now...

The symptoms may take 3 months to appear...
This is just scary!!!

Thanks for the post BM

OMG same thought as above. that's more then scarry!

[smb127]

I personaly don't like Maple Leaf Products, I grew up near Kitchener and Schneiders was the brand to buy.

[LisaLisaBoBisa]

schneiders is included in the recall and are under the ML umbrella.. I was eating libbys corn beef sandwiches on monday -- they are also under the umbrella, but not on the list.. thank god..

I personaly don't like Maple Leaf Products, I grew up near Kitchener and Schneiders was the brand to buy.

[Meg1112]

Thanks for the post BM

[roseofblack25]

ewww

we have weiners and beef steaks that arent part of the recall but still kind of afraid to eat them

[Sally888]

Very scary!

[Beast Master]

the news tonight said that they are determining if more cases are from this outbreak and if ANOTHER death is from this too.

[roseofblack25]

i thought they said on the news that they have added four more confirmed deaths to the one they already had?

[Beast Master]

The death of a woman in Hamilton, Ont., has officially been linked to a food-borne bacterial outbreak spreading across the country and at least three others are under investigation.
There are 30 probable cases of a deadly listeriosis outbreak in Ontario and more are expected, the province's top health official said Thursday.
Most of the confirmed cases are in the province of Ontario, where Dr. Williams told people to throw out any processed sandwich meats that they were unsure about.
"I advise you not to eat any unidentifiable ready-to-eat meat," Dr. Williams said at a news conference.
The province has been confirmed that three other Toronto-area deaths are being investigated where listeria may have been a contributing factor.
Authorities are looking into 38 suspected listeriosis cases
Although small traces of the potentially deadly bacterium Listeria monocytogenes have been discovered in some of the 23 varieties of deli meats being recalled by Maple Leaf Consumer Foods, the CFIA said Thursday it has yet to be determined if that strain is the same as the one associated with the fatal outbreak that also has sickened at least 17 other people this year.

"The incubation period is anywhere from three to 70 days, with the median being three weeks," Dr. Williams said. "So I'm expecting to have some more cases reported, yes, definitely."

[harkatsmom]

Wow, that is so sad and this is just crazy that we have to worry about the foods we eat...

Out her it is an outbreak of salmonella
http://www.bccdc.org/news.php?item=2...8ef4c35963c30e

Salmonella cases on the rise in British Columbia
For Immediate Release
July 28, 2008
VANCOUVER, BC - British Columbia is seeing a steady increase in cases of Salmonella food borne illness, with the vast majority of these being reported in the lower mainland.
“In the past two months, we have seen over 60 cases of infection, all due to the same strain of Salmonella,” explains Dr. Eleni Galanis, Physician Epidemiologist with the BC Centre for Disease Control, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority. “While the cause for this increase has not yet been confirmed, a detailed investigation is underway, which includes thorough interviews with all cases and testing of potentially contaminated food to try to identify the source.”
Salmonella are naturally-occurring bacteria found in the intestines of animals, particularly poultry, cattle and swine. Salmonella can contaminate meat, eggs and raw fruits and vegetables. Symptoms of Salmonella infection may include fever, headache, diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea and sometimes vomiting. These symptoms commonly occur 12 to 36 hours after eating contaminated food or water, and can be serious for young children, elderly people, and those with weak immune systems.
“This strain, different from the one causing the Salmonella outbreak in the US, had only 39 cases reported in total for 2007, so seeing 60 cases in two months is a cause for concern,” says Dr. Galanis, who along with her colleagues from BCCDC, and partners from regional Health Authorities, and provincial and federal governments, is increasing surveillance and laboratory testing of Salmonella.
To prevent food borne illness, the BCCDC reminds British Columbians to buy food from approved sources only, and to follow the four C’s of Food Safety:

1. CLEAN: wash hands (minimum of 20 seconds), produce and food preparation surfaces;
2. Don’t CROSS CONTAMINATE: do not use the same utensils, plates or cutting board for raw meat and raw vegetables or cooked meat;
3. COOK: meat, including poultry, should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 74°C, and eggs until they are no longer runny;
4. CHILL: refrigerate food promptly.

If you have symptoms compatible with Salmonella infection, call the 24-hour BC NurseLine at 1-866-215-4700, contact a family physician, or view the BC HealthFiles on Salmonella and Food Safety at www.bchealthguide.org/healthfiles.