Maple Leaf Foods expands product recall
Maple Leaf Foods has expanded its voluntary recall of packaged meat products manufactured at its Bartor Road facility in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
This comes as an investigation by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Public Health Agency of Canada concluded that the strain of Listeria bacteria that has caused illness and loss of life matches the Listeria strain identified in some Maple Leaf products.
A small number of Sure Slice packaged meat products produced at the facility, predominantly for foodservice customers, has tested positive as containing low levels of Listeria monocytogenes. Consumption of food contaminated with this may cause Listeriosis, a foodborne illness.
The expanded recall includes all production from the Bartor Road facility as a further precautionary measure, said a company official.
In addition, Maple Leaf Foods, a leading food processing company in Canada, has temporarily closed the plant "in order to fully reassess all aspects of the facility’s food safety procedures."