Post by pledm on Aug 26, 2008 13:20:25 GMT -5
Recall over listeriosis fears expands to 4 more products
Irving, Sub Delicious, Needs brand sandwiches sold in N.B., P.E.I. and N.S.
Four more ready-made sandwich brands have been added to a massive voluntary meat recall in connection with a deadly listeriosis outbreak across Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said.
In a statement released early Tuesday, the CFIA said the Alberton, P.E.I.-based Atlantic Prepared Foods Ltd. is recalling its Irving, Sub Delicious and Needs brand sandwiches.
The products are sold in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these sandwiches, but they contain some of the meat products from the Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto already recalled, the CFIA said.
Metro Ontario Inc. also pulled some of its Fresh 2 Go sandwiches from A & P and Dominion stores for the same reason, the CFIA said.
Over the weekend, the Toronto plant was confirmed as being involved in the outbreak of the food-borne illness, caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. On Monday, Maple Leaf upgraded a precautionary recall of 23 of its products, issued last week, to all 220 packaged meats from the plant.
26 confirmed cases, 12 deaths
On Tuesday, the company said it was again delaying the opening of the Toronto facility.
There are now 26 confirmed cases of the listeriosis, up from 21, said Dr. Mark Raizenne, director general of the Public Health Agency of Canada's centre for food-borne, environmental and zoonotic infectious diseases. Zoonotic diseases are those that can be transmitted to humans from animals.
Of those 26, there are 12 confirmed deaths, up from four in Ontario and B.C., Raizenne said. Eleven deaths were in Ontario and one was in B.C., he said. The listeria strain was the underlying or contributing factor in seven of those 12 deaths but the other five, which had the bacterium in their system, are still under investigation, he said.
The number of suspected cases is now 29, down from 30, he said. Those cases are in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan.
Food safety rules need 'revamp': Harper
"This is a terrible development and I want to express my condolences to the families who have been affected," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in Ottawa Tuesday.
"I think all of us, and obviously I include my own family in this, we expect that when we shop that the things we buy or that we eat are going to be safe."
Harper cited increased resources and inspectors in the last federal budget as examples of how the government realizes it is necessary to "reform and revamp" Canada's food and product inspection processes after "some years of neglect."
"All members of government have been on top of this," Harper said.
"Obviously, we want to make sure that the companies maintain their responsibilities and that we fully review all the facts here and understand what went wrong and how it can be prevented from happening in the future."
When asked by reporters in Ottawa why Health Minister Tony Clement was currently in Denver for the Democratic National Convention, the prime minister said his government was keeping a close tab on the federal food inspection agency's continuing investigation.
While critics have seized upon the absence of Clement, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, who is responsible for the CFIA, immediately returned to Ottawa from his Saskatchewan riding to manage the crisis.
Contamination source may never be found
Symptoms of listeriosis — which include high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea — occur up to 70 days after consuming contaminated food, though the average incubation period is 30 days, the federal food agency said.
People most at risk include newborns, the elderly, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, public health officials said. People should wash produce and avoid unpasteurized milk and dairy products, the CFIA advised.
Public health and company officials said the source of the contamination may never be found since listeria is widespread and commonly found in the environment, such as in soil and in water.
Maple Leaf Foods estimates the recall will directly cost the company at least $20 million, with further losses expected due to lost sales and advertising to rebuild its image.
So bloody sad,12 deaths so far dozens sick from eating .Someone in quality control wasn`t doing his job.
