Meat recall a wakeup call to consumers: doctor
Published Wednesday August 27th, 2008
Summer is prime time for dangerous bacteria to invade our homes and kitchens
This week's recall of meat products is a reminder to the food industry, the medical community and consumers in general that we can't take food safety for granted, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer said yesterday.
"I think this whole process has served as a reminder that we can't ignore infectious diseases and the need for food safety," Dr. Robert Strang said in a telephone interview from Halifax. "But it also gives us comfort that we have a good system in place to detect these problems and respond to them."
Strang said the recall of possibly tainted products from a Maple Leaf meat processing plant in Toronto happened very quickly thanks to rules, regulations and procedures in the circular chain of events from the hospital to government to producer and distributor to retailer, through the media and finally back to the consumers.
Here's how the chain of events worked:
* The people ate the meat and got sick.
* They went to the hospital for treatment. Since listeriosis must be reported, the hospital followed regulations and reported the symptoms to government health officials, who launched an investigation. The investigation included background checks and food consumption history on the patients.
* The source of the illness was linked to bacteria in the meat.
* The processor, Maple Leaf, issued a voluntary recall through its distributors to all retail outlets, restaurants and other consumers. Governments issued warnings through the media and its own websites, complete with a list of the products and the UPC codes.
* The meat products were removed from grocery store shelves. Restaurant chains, working on their own food safety policies, removed the products within hours.
* Days after the recall, retailers were still checking their invoices and calling consumers who had purchased the meat products, advising them to destroy it or return it for a refund.
Maple Leaf's list of possibly tainted products from the plant in question continues to grow.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced yesterday that two distributors, Atlantic Prepared Foods Limited and Metro Ontario Inc. were voluntarily recalling sandwiches that may contain some of the 220 meat products Maple Leaf has recalled in the wake of a deadly, nationwide listeriosis outbreak.
Atlantic recalled Irving, Sub Delicious and Needs brand sandwiches, sold throughout New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Metro Ontario removed three sandwiches from its Fresh 2 Go brand from selected A & P and Dominion locations across the province.
Maple Leaf initiated its recall after Listeria bacteria were detected on some of the goods produced in one of its Toronto plants, but eventually pulled all products made at the facility from store shelves as the outbreak escalated.
Federal lab tests have concluded that the strain of bacteria found at the Maple Leaf plant is linked to the outbreak that has killed at least six people so far and sickened at least 20. But CFIA officials and Maple Leaf executives insist more testing is needed to determine whether the tainted meat directly contributed to any of the deaths.
A spokeswoman for the New Brunswick Health Department said there were no reported cases of listeriosis in this province. Officials were not available to comment further and questions were to Health Canada.
A case of possible listeria contamination near Amherst is still under investigation by officials from both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Last week, several staff members at Camp Tidnish -- located on the N.B. side of the border on the Northumberland Strait between Amherst and Port Elgin -- had come down with the usual symptoms. The camp is operated by the Amherst Rotary Club for children with mental and physical challenges. As a precaution, the children were sent home.
Strang said only one of the staff members is still sick and tests are being done to determine what caused it. Provincial officials were alerted because the camp apparently had some of the meat products on the Maple Leaf list.
But Strang said they could have become sick from one or more of the many gastrointestinal illnesses that are more common during the summer months.
He said summer is prime time for people to get sick from salmonella, e-coli and other bacteria creeping around kitchens, barbecues, picnic sites and other places where food is prepared and stored.
"It's ironic that we have a whole process in place to maximize food safety, but bacteria is often spread in our own homes and kitchens."
He said consumers can best protect themselves by following the usual rules of kitchen cleanliness, cooking meat properly, storing it properly and using separate utensils and cutting boards for meat and other foods like bread or salad ingredients.
The symptoms of listeriosis are similar to those of salmonella food poisoning: fever, muscle aches, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headaches and constipation. If it spreads into the nervous system, it can cause stiff neck, loss of balance or convulsions. Symptoms usually show up from two to 70 days of eating a contaminated food. It is especially dangerous for pregnant women or those with immune system deficiencies.
Strang said the symptoms of listeriosis are more severe than other forms of food poisoning and people would be advised to go to the hospital for treatment. It is up to the primary care physician to report any "notifiable diseases" to public health officials for further tests and investigation. This could eventually raise alarm bells and trigger such action as a national recall of wrapped food products.
Since the recent recall from Maple Leaf was for items like ham, turkey, sausages and other prepared meats that were sealed at the factory, it was easy to trace and remove from stores and restaurants.
But it also unnerved some business owners.
Gilles Ratté, a veteran restaurateur in Moncton who operates a chain of Ed's Sub shops and the Graffiti Restaurant downtown, said the recall is just the latest scare that he has had to deal with. Earlier this year, restaurant owners had to remove tomatoes and other vegetables after a salmonella scare in the United States. And now he is dealing with frightened customers even though he didn't have any of the contaminated meat in stock. Prepared meats like ham, salami and others are a staple ingredient for most submarine and sandwich shops.
"The first thing we had to do was make sure we didn't have any of that product, and then prepare some information for our staff and customers to tell them what we have and where it comes from," said Ratté, who opened his first Ed's Sub at the corner of Archibald and Mountain Road back in 1982.
He said consumers have a right to be nervous and it is frustrating for business owners to follow all the health safety rules in the kitchen, but be working with sealed products they have no control over. He said business owners have to put their faith in processors that the products they serve and sell will be safe.
"Maybe it's time to go back to more natural products. We operate in a global market, an international market and we have to learn about where these products come from."
* With files from The Canadian Press.
* Deadly outbreak shows need to revamp inspection system: PM/NEWSTODAY C1
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