ONTARIO: Meals on Wheels providers respond to listeria concerns

14.sep.08
from a press release

TORONTO -- Food manufacturer apetito, a supplier of frozen meals to many
organizations delivering Meals on Wheels, has voluntarily recalled one of their
Private Recipe brand frozen meals due to concerns the product may be contaminated
with Listeria Monocytogenes. There have been no reported illnesses associated with
the consumption of this product. Meals on Wheels providers in Ontario have been
quick to respond, contacting their clients about the recall.
"The food item in question was distributed to agencies in June and early July. Based
on information provided from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and apetito,
the risk to clients is very low. After reviewing their records, apetito will be
advising agencies whether they received products from this batch. They will also be
providing agencies with a list of clients who received the products from this
particular batch and informing them of actions they should take," said Susan
Thorning, CEO of the Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA), the provincial
association representing Meals on Wheels providers in Ontario.
The recall was triggered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) when their
testing program identified low levels of the Listeria bacteria in one batch of
frozen meals produced on June 6, 2008. The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of
the recall.
The affected product, Private Recipe brand Creamed Salmon with Mashed Potatoes &
Glazed Carrots is a 370 g frozen meal bearing item number 12012 and a Best Before
Date of 2009 JN 06. It was distributed frozen by "Meals on Wheels" and similar
charitable agencies in British Columbia, Ontario, and New Brunswick.
The affected meals are stored frozen (bacteria does not grow in frozen food) and
meals are heated prior to eating (bacteria is killed if internal temperature of meal
reaches 72c or 165F).
Most cases of food borne illness can be prevented by using safe food handling
practices. To make your risk of contamination even lower:
<<
- Keep food out of the temperature danger zone (between 4c and 60c or 40F and 140F)
- Keep the refrigerator at 4c (40F) or colder
- Refrigerate food promptly
- Thoroughly cook or boil food to an internal temperature of 74C or 165F.
If clients believe a product presents a health and safety risk or to report a
potential food safety incident contact the CFIA by telephone at 1-800-442-2342
For more information consumers and industry can call the CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 /
TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday) or visit
www.inspection.gc.ca 
For information on Listeria monocytogenes, visit the Food Facts web page at:
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concern/causee.shtml