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Recalled Shopsy's pepperoni sticks were found at a convenience store in Montreal by CTV on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008. This convenience store owner was stunned when CTV told him he was serving recalled meat products on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Ravine Mushroom Farms Inc. are warning the public not to consume the Fresh Obsessions brand Ready To Serve Pre-washed Sliced White Mushrooms described below because the product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Prime Minister Stephen Harper speaks during a press conference in Windsor, Ont., Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008. Harper is promising an investigation into the outbreak. (Dave Chidle / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Recalled Maple Leaf products found in Montreal

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CTV News Video

CTV News: Genevieve Beauchemin reports
Just as Maple Leaf Foods begins expressing confidence in its products again, a new product, sliced white mushrooms, is added to the recall list.
CTV Montreal: Derek Conlon investigates the store
A convenience store owner on St. Catherine Street East in Montreal wasn't aware he had potentially tainted products until CTV pointed it out to him.
CTV Toronto: Paul Bliss reports on the probe announced by the PM
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is promising an independent investigation into the deadly listeriosis outbreak.
CTV Newsnet: Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces the investigation
Stephen Harper has announced an independent investigation which is in the works following the listeriosis outbreak from a Maple Leaf Foods plant. The Prime Minister vows to resolve all of the errors commited on the bureaucratic end.
Canada AM: Michael McCain, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Foods, with the latest on the outbreak
China and Mexico have banned Maple Leaf Food meat imports from Canada due to concerns about the deadly listeriosis contamination in this country.

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Date: Wed. Sep. 3 2008 7:04 PM ET

Maple Leaf Foods products that have been recalled because of possible contamination with Listeria were found in at least two Montreal stores on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper vowed to have an independent investigation into the outbreak.

CTV Montreal found a box of Hygrade pepperoni sticks -- included in the recall list -- at a convenience store. The owner said his family had purchased the products from a supplier about two weeks ago, but he had not been told it should be taken off the shelves.

"We didn't get any report," he said. "We didn't get anything."

At another convenience store, CTV Montreal found Shopsys pepperoni sticks that had also been included in the recall list. Their product code had "97B" -- linking it to the Maple Leaf Foods plant in Ontario that has been linked to the outbreak.

A store spokesperson said he had purchased the product about three weeks ago. Maple Leaf Foods issued its first recall list around Aug. 19.

Jean-Louis Michaud, a spokesperson for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, said stores and suppliers should have been notified about the recall list.

"We're concerned because every single retailer has been informed already. So we're looking at what has happened," he said.

There are roughly 30,000 convenience stores -- or "depanneurs" -- in Quebec.

Harper told reporters Wednesday he was "very troubled" by the deadly outbreak.

The prime minister told reporters, during a campaign-style stop in Windsor, Ont., that the investigation will aim to prevent a similar outbreak in the future.

The statement came on the same day the CFIA said an Ontario-based grower is recalling some of its mushrooms over Listeria-contamination fears.

Ravine Mushroom Farms Inc., of Woodbridge, Ont., is pulling its Fresh Obsessions-brand Ready to Serve pre-washed, sliced white mushrooms from store shelves in Ontario.

The mushrooms are sold in eight-ounce packages with the lot code R12398.

The code can be found ink jetted on the cellophane wrapper on the side of the package.

The CFIA said Wednesday there have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of the product.

The statement did not indicate any link between the mushroom recall and the nation-wide Listeriosis outbreak connected to a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says the number of confirmed deaths in which listeriosis was the underlying or contributing cause remains steady at 12.

On Tuesday, Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer, said the peak of the public's exposure to Listeria probably happened around the end of June.

With an incubation period ranging between three to 70 days, he said the number of new cases is likely to dwindle. Also, the number of suspected cases of listeriosis has dropped from 21 to 14.

Still, Maple Leaf Foods President Michael McCain said Wednesday his company is continuing to work on a comprehensive action plan to fix the situation.

"Candidly, I'm not going to allow that facility to open until I'm personally satisfied," he told CTV's Canada AM.

McCain said his long-range plan includes creating a position of chief food safety officer within his organization.

He said he's also going to assemble a "world-class team" of third-party experts to advise the company on the newest technologies to keep food safe.

Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled, warns the CFIA.

However, Listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea.

Pregnant women, the elderly and people with weak immune systems are particularly at risk. Infections during pregnancy can lead to premature delivery, infection of the newborn or stillbirth, says CFIA.

With files from CTV Montreal The Canadian Press

Comments are now closed for this story

TrutH
said

DUCK: thanks for bringing that up! i'm a strong believer in that. i rarely get sick.
using antibacterial fluids on your hands constantly actually invites more bacteria in..
the populations' immunes systems are getting weaker than the 'olden days'


Tracey
said

to the vegetarians: Listeria now found in mushrooms


Gordon in sarnia
said

More media hysteria. Listeriosis is actually quite common;but the media always over reacts. I recall pig flu from the 70's and last year it was mutated bird flu. Next year it will be Venuzeualan Beaver Flu. Hard to sort all this baloney out when there are REAL threats out there like SARS.


Cat
said

What bothers me about this store owner is that he or the govt should have a system in place to know how to call up or look up recalls on phone or the net. A lot of small store owners are from other nations where the net and recall list do not exist. This is scary.


Joce
said

It does make a bit of sense seeing that cheese, meat and now mushrooms are all affected. The Listeria is in the cows (I think they're only carriers but I don't know for certain), which would end up in the cheese ( some types of cheese comes from cows milk) and if the mushrooms were grown in the manure of cows... that could explain why its now showing up in mushrooms.


VK
said

This Listeria contamination situation can become an election issue as foreign countries begin to question the safety of our food supply.


What if.....
said

What if....
Listeriosis is spreading because inspectors can't afford to travel to the various food producers because they are in fear Dion will get to power and tax their use of fuel used to do their jobs. The Carbon tax Dion is threatening to implement will have far reaching effects more than than you might even imagine.


duck
said

Could it be that we as a society we have gotten too clean so our immune systems are not strong enough to ward off an infection. Perhaps that question should be a part of the investigation.


Let the truth come out
said

Why don't we have an independent investigation prior to going to the polls so that we can see if there are any links between these outbreaks and the cuts to CFIA's inspectors?


TimT
said

'spin spin spin'

OK, tell that to the families that lost loved ones because of this outbreak.

Food safety (as well as other items such as air travel...) should be a major election issue.


Marcel
said

The PM and his Minister of Health, Tony Clement, should have made this announcement when the crisis was first revealed. Instead of being at the Democratic Convention last week Minister Clement should have been taking care of this situation. I think human lives are more important than attending a political convention. The only reason the PM made this announcement today is because the election campaign will begin in the next three or four days. Thank you.


Marg Bedore
said

I am one of those people with a compromised immune system and I don't want the government to let industry inspect itself. Walkerton was the result of Conservative cuts and now Harper is doing the same.

Victim
said

To anyone debating the severity of this outbreak - I spent 5 days in an icu in Huntsville Ontario and they nearly had to remove my colon surgically. I lost 30 pounds in the 15 days since. I'm 20 and have no known medical problems. I still can't eat normally. Do you think this is something I deserved or something to ignore? I can't imagine anyone with a compromised immune system living through what I went through and heaven forbid anyone of age gets sick. This is serious stuff!


The Mushroom Lady
said

There is often confusion as to how mushrooms can become tainted with Listeria, and the way that they are grown has nothing to do with the matter. Mushrooms are grown in a sterilized substrate made up of several different agriculture by-products including stable bedding, wheat straw and peat moss. The substrate is pasteurized at 136°F (58°C) for 8 hours before the mushroom spawn are mixed into it. Spawn is mushroom mycelia attached to sterile grain, such as millet or rye. Spawn is delivered to the grower, in refrigerated trucks, in sealed bags from sterile laboratories that specialize in mushroom mycelia genetics. That means the substrate and seedstock are 100% clean and sterile.

The source of listeria in mushroom farms is usually from the slicing machine. If particles of mushroom get stuck or lodged in the cover that houses the blade, listeria can grow.

As stated before the recall is a precautionary measure, and nobody has been reported as ill.


Maeve
said

This is terrifying.. how do we know what we are eating? Some things are safe, and now mushrooms on the recall list??
Definitely not just news.. this is a huge concern to everyday life...


Antoine
said

VEGETABLES DO NOT PRODUCE LISTERIA. If vegetables contain Listeria it is because they have been contaminated by an animal source. Listeria is produced by rotting flesh: meat. It is also present in manure (because cows are fed rendered animals) Most mushroom growers grow their mushrooms in manure (yep in poo!) But do you notice the "may" in the headline? The meat and dairy industry is losing a lot of money, and as the first post illustrates this kind of headline serves only to confuse people so that they will buy meat again.

David Probst
said

This is past ridiculous!
Food poisoning is not fun, but get a reality check. Far more people per year are killed in automobile accidents than die by food poisoning and don't even go to "preventable" hospital deaths. Food can be dangerous and so is sex.
Quit panicking and eat!


Denise
said

This is getting ridiculous! Listeria is more common than we realise, the only reason we're hearing about this right now is because of the Maple Leaf outbreak. It seems like every time there is any kind of "larger-scale" incident, for the next several weeks, the media jumps all over every little incident of the same kind. In a couple of months, this probably won't even be news anymore.

Oh, and for Crazy Jim, the only common source for these "seemingly unrelated" events is nature. Listeria is found in soil and water.


Eileen25
said

To JRE...Oh, we vegetarians are still here, and very much less likely to be sickened by what we eat. Think about what mushrooms are grown in...that might give us a clue to Listeria.


Jim Haddad
said

Is there anything left that's safe to eat?

This is really starting to get very serious.

Where are the food inspectors!!!


Rick in NB
said

This is a good thing. Food inspections have been stepped up to the point of everything being inspected.
Its a perfect time to shake up the food industry and see what falls out. Now everyone will be on the same page safety wise. It makes me feel safe, but then there are those who see deciet in everything ie: spin spin spin


JRE
said

Where are all the vegetarians now who claimed that processed meats are dangerous and fruits and vegetables are safe?


L.
said

Jim....They aren't contaminated from the same source. They are different variations of listeria.


Steve in Aylmer
said

I`m with you Crazy Jim.

What is going on out there?

I had no idea what Listeria was till this year.

What is it with this listeria?

I`m confused!



What's next?????
said

Great...what's next...Listeria in the water supply....in the air we breathe?

People...the planet is packed with bacteria and other microbial lifeforms that may or may not harm humans.

COPE!


Jayme
said

To Crazy Jim
From what i have seen there not saying there is any connections.Just to add some of those who got sick may not have been connected to the maple leaf meat virius.What i have seen reported some cases they say may not be connected to the maple leaf out break.I think it should be cleared up how many got sick directly to the maple leaf products.Its all very sad but i am starting to get confused.


Marc Debeau
said

Whats next, this is getting to the point were people fear to eat the food the buy.


abdula
said

As the stomach turns - noted that this was "spin, Spin, Spin etc....."

How is this spin at all? No one as far as I can see has made it a major campaign issue.

Not everything needs to be a partisan issue sometimes it is just news.




As the stomach turns
said

Now we are seeing Listeria behind every bush... ARGH!!

Spin, spin, spin....


Crazy Jim
said

I'm really confused about how more and more of these seemingly unrelated products could be contaminated from the same source. Is this in fact a process issue rather than an outbreak event? It will be interesting to hear a detailed explanation when this is all over with.


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