Siena meats not linked to listeria deaths, says province Law firm that handled Maple Leaf case still launching class-action suit on Monday


Published On Sun Mar 14 2010 
Jennifer Yang and Denise Balkissoon 
Staff Reporters 

Five recent listeria deaths are probably not linked to Toronto deli meat manufacturer Siena Foods, says the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care but, even so, a class action suit against Siena is going ahead. 

Merchant Law Group, which is leading the class action, represented thousands of people victimized by Canada’s biggest listeria outbreak, the Maple Leaf recall of 2008, when at least 20 people died from eatingtainted meat. 

So far this year 14 Ontarians have come down with listeriosis, which Health Ministry spokesperson Andrew Morrison says is above the usual number for this point in the year. 

Of those 14, two cases have been definitely traced back to products from Siena Foods, said Morrison. But, he said, “preliminary indications” are that the five listeriosis deaths in 2010 were not caused by Siena meats. 

There are 40 cases of listeriosis in Ontario every year, he said. 

“When the Maple Leaf situation was emerging, there was that same indecision,” said Tony Merchant, head of the class action group. Merchant said it will file suit on Monday against Siena Foods on behalf of anyone who may have purchased or eaten the affected meats. 

“Then there was a change of view that it was Maple Leaf-related,” Merchant told the Star. “

The tendency of the government is to diminish until the facts are overwhelming,” he added. The national class action suit will allege that Siena was “negligent” in producing contaminated meat and the firm will be seeking financial compensation whether or not any illness resulted.

Robert Charleboix, executive director of food safety and consumer protection for the Canada Food Inspection Agency, said that Siena’s Etobicoke factory was closed on Friday for a “full teardown and cleanup and in-depth sanitation.” Siena Foods has yet to comment on the lawsuit but has admitted that some of its meats tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

Siena Foods has voluntarily recalled four products as each became the subject of a Canadian Food Inspection Agency warning. The first was cacciatore salami, which tested positive for listeria in CFIA tests in December, 2009. A prosciutto cotto cooked ham was recalled last Thursday, and on Friday, CFIA expanded its warning to include two other dried meat products, Siena-brand coppa and prosciuttini cured meats.

Samples of all of them tested positive for in CFIA tests. 

“We’ve had contacts from people who are in various levels of sickness,” Merchant told the Star on Sunday. “We’re working on (the lawsuit) as we speak.”

Merchant said a Mississauga man was the first to contact his firm with claims of contracting the illness and as of noon Sunday, nearly 20 people had approached the law firm with similar claims.

One was a 74-year-old man from Etobicoke named John, who bought a Siena-brand cooked ham from his local Loblaws a couple of weeks ago. After eating the ham, he became feverish and woke up that night in a pool of perspiration. According to Merchant, John began vomiting and suffered from diarrhea for three straight days, eventually visiting a doctor who tested him for listeriosis.

“He sort of said, ‘you know, I’ve been feeling like I’m dying,’” said Merchant. 

John declined an interview with the Star and would not give his last name. His test results have yet to come back but the symptoms are consistent with that of listeriosis, Merchant said.

The 2008 class-action lawsuit against Maple Leaf saw Merchant reach a settlement late last year of payments totaling $27 million. Some plaintiffs who had relatives die received hundreds of thousands in compensation, Merchant said.

Merchant has yet to hear from anyone who’s experienced a family death due to listeriosis during the current outbreak but said he expects more people will continue to contact his firm and that such cases snowball over time. The lawyer also encourages businesses to get involved if the meat recalls have caused them to suffer financially.

This is not the first time Siena meat has experienced a product recall, having experienced four since 2007. The current recalls affect the following products:

• A cacciatore salami (mild) distributed in Ontario and Quebec (it may have also been distributed nationally).

• A prosciutto cotto cooked ham which has “best before” dates of March 8 and March 22, 2010, sold to delicatessens, grocery and specialty stores in Ontario, Alberta and Quebec. The ham would have been sold to consumers after Jan. 11, 2010, although the meat was initially distributed in wholesale packages so the original brand and/or best before dates may no longer be on the packaging.

• Coppa cured meat, sold in variable weight packages weighing between approximately 300 and 400 grams. It was distributed in Ontario and Alberta, possibly also nationally. The best before date is June 21, 2010.

• Prosciuttini cured meats, sold in weight packages weighing between approximately 300 and 400 grams. “Best before” dates fall between June 20 - 22, 2010, and the meat was distributed in Ontario and Alberta (but may have also been distributed nationally).

Listeriosis symptoms include high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Particularly at risk are pregnant women, elderly people and those with weakened immune systems.

With files from Robert Cribb and the Canadian Press