Syringe casing found in ham prompts Maple Leaf Foods recall

07.nov.06
Globe and Mail/National Post/ The Record (Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo)

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Maple Leaf Foods have recalled some ham and sliced meat products after police were called in to investigate a small number of syringe casings found at an Ontario plant.
A casing was found by an employee Sunday at the Maple Leaf Foods plant in Kitchener, Ont., but not before some of the products were distributed. Police said it was the third such discovery reported by employees in the past two weeks.
Speaking in an interview with the CBC Tuesday, Maple Leaf Foods spokeswoman Linda Smith was quoted as saying, "The recall was initiated on the basis of a syringe casing that was found touching a ham, slightly embedded in a ham. It was found on a visual inspection."
The recalled products include Kent smoked hams and varieties of Schneider's fat-free sliced meat.
So far, there have been no reported illnesses associated with eating the products, and no tampered meat has been found on shelves.
CFIA safety inspector Garfield Balsom was quoted as saying Tuesday, "They were syringe casings, there was no needle. They were found in the production facility."
Jean Szkotnicki, president of the Canadian Animal Health Institute, was quoted as saying, "There should be no reason to have a syringe and the plastic casings and that in the meat plant. They're not treating animals there."
Balsom was further cited as saying the incidents on Oct. 24 and Nov. 2 were not reported to the CFIA. Only when a casing was discovered in a ham last Friday did Maple Leaf alert the federal agency - two days later, on Sunday afternoon.
Company spokesperson Linda Smith was cited as saying Maple Leaf didn't report the first incident because it assumed the casings had somehow arrived at the plant with the meat, adding, "Generally, syringe casings are unusual. The company wrote up an incident report, but I believe at that time presumed it to be a veterinary supply that had come in with some raw material."
Although the company has since installed X-ray machines and surveillance cameras, they weren't in place at the time.
Mel Fruitman, vice-president of the Consumers' Association of Canada was cited as saying the incident highlights flaws within Canada's food safety system and consumers should be concerned about the fact syringe casings were allowed to get into the plant, adding, "There are some shortcomings and there are potential dangers. We always could use more inspectors. One death is one too many if it comes from tainted food that could have been prevented."
Maple Leaf defended its food safety record, saying the problem was quickly dealt with and a voluntary recall initiated.
Terry Flynn, an expert on crisis management, was cited as saying that full disclosure without delay is always the best strategy for companies like Maple Leaf Foods facing a crisis over a contaminated food product, but that he went to Maple Leaf's website at about noon yesterday and had trouble finding information about the problem.
A check of the company website yesterday afternoon revealed a news release on the possible tampering issue, plus key points about the recall and a question-and-answer sheet on such issues as how many syringes were found and what security precautions are being taken to prevent it from happening again.
Prof. Chatura Ranaweera of the School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University, was cited as saying that a company faced with a crisis about its products shouldn't try to downplay matters or pass the buck, adding, "That kind of strategy always fails."