Ontario to review five deaths in listeriosis investigation

By Laura Stone, Canwest News Service
March 13, 2010

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Friday unveiled tougher listeria testing rules for ready-to-eat meat plants in the wake of a listeriosis outbreak linked to the death of 20 Canadians.
Photograph by: Dave Sidaway, Montreal Gazette
OTTAWA — An investigation into listeria-contaminated deli meat in Ontario will now include the review of five deaths, the province said Saturday.

The deaths will be examined for any possible links to the latest recall of meat from Siena Foods Ltd. — a recall that took place Saturday — said a spokesman with the province’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. 

Some of the recalled products may have been distributed nationally, however the deaths being examined took place only in Ontario.

Spokesman Andrew Morrison said the deaths are not linked to two previously recalled meat products from Siena Foods Ltd. Those meats were matched, through a “genetic fingerprint,” to two non-fatal listeriosis cases in the province.

On Saturday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Siena Foods expanded their warning not to consume certain dried meat products because it may be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes.

Siena brand Coppa, sold in 300- to 400-gram packages, with a best-before date of June 21, 2010, or no date; and Siena brand Prosciuttini or Prosciuttini Hot, also sold in 300- to 400-gram packages, with best-before dates of June 20, 21 and 22, 2010, are now part of the recall.

“It’s important to note that those new products they recalled have a different genetic fingerprint than the first two,” Morrison said. 

“Regarding these newly recalled products, Ontario’s investigation is underway to determine any linkages to that.” 

In total, the ministry is investigating 14 cases of listeriosis, including the five deaths, which have been reported this year, said Morrison. 

The Public Health Agency of Canada could not immediately say whether any listeriosis cases in other jurisdictions are under investigation for a link to Siena meats. 

Siena, which has a plant in Toronto, has ceased production and is working with Canadian Food Inspection Agency inspectors to sanitize the facility, he said.

“What we’re trying to determine is if there’s any links to the new products. That investigation is now underway, now that we have the new information from the CFIA,” said Morrison.

Ontario’s chief medical officer, Dr. Arlene King, on Friday announced the link between two non-fatal listeriosis cases and Siena-brand prosciutto cotto cooked ham, recalled Thursday. That recall covers products with best-before dates of March 8 and March 22 from delis and grocery stores in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta.

The Siena prosciutto would have been sold to consumers after Jan. 11, 2010. First, it was sold to delicatessens, grocery and specialty food stores in large wholesale packages for further slicing bearing best-before dates of March 8 and March 22. The match also includes Siena-brand mild cacciatore salami. 

It is the first such match since the Maple Leaf recall in 2008. 

The 14 cases mark a higher-than-normal number of Ontarians who have fallen ill from listeriosis this year, said King. 

Alberta’s Ministry of Health on Friday said there are no known cases in that province, but public health officials are aware of the situation and will continue to monitor it.

The Ontario match is the first since the massive Maple Leaf recall in 2008. Twenty-two people — most of them elderly Canadians living in provincial long-term care facilities or hospitals — died after consuming deli meats contaminated with listeria produced at a government-inspected Maple Leaf plant in Toronto.

It also follows an effort by the Public Health Agency of Canada and Canadian Food Inspection Agency to rehabilitate their images in the wake of the 2008 listeriosis outbreak.

A string of reviews into the Maple Leaf listeriosis outbreak showed major gaps in the oversight of Canada’s food system and co-ordination problems with public health officials, including a report by independent investigatory Sheila Weatherill.

In her final report released last July, Weatherill — appointed by the federal government — zeroed in on a “vacuum in senior leadership” among government officials at the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that caused “confusion and weak decision-making.” 

She also called on PHAC to take the communications lead during food-borne illness outbreaks.

Since the Weatherill report, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has committed an additional $75 million to increase the number of inspectors at CFIA to increase government oversight at meat plans.

He also committed to implementing Weatherill’s 57 recommendations to improve food safety. But in January, six months after the Weatherill report, CFIA’s meat inspectors gave the agency a failing grade for not moving quickly enough on the “vast majority” of the recommendations.

With files from Sarah Schmidt and Philip Ling, Canwest News Service

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