3 deaths in listeriosis outbreak linked to plant-based milk recall, Health Canada says

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/liste...nada-1.7267291

2 deaths in listeriosis outbreak linked to plant-based milk recall, Health Canada says
Deaths among 12 cases under investigation and linked to certain plant-based refrigerated beverages
CBC News · Posted: Jul 17, 2024 9:08 PM EDT | Last Updated: 26 minutes ago

Two people have died after being sickened with listeriosis, as part of a wider set of cases linked to plant-based beverages that prompted a recall.

Health Canada reported the deaths in an advisory issued Wednesday night, which have occurred out of 12 listeriosis cases — 10 in Ontario, and one each in Quebec and Nova Scotia, according to the federal agency's count — that are under investigation.

The agency says people became sick between August 2023 and early July 2024.

Earlier this month, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled certain Silk and Great Value brands of oat, almond and coconut refrigerated beverages over possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination...

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Public Health Notice: Outbreak of Listeria infections linked to recalled plant-based refrigerated beverages Français

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NEWS PROVIDED BY
Public Health Agency of Canada
Jul 30, 2024, 12:06 ET

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OTTAWA, ON, July 30, 2024 /CNW/ - Update

This outbreak investigation is ongoing. The public health notice will be updated as the investigation evolves.

At a glance

Do not consume, use, sell, serve or distribute various recalled plant-based refrigerated beverages

Illnesses	18
Provinces and territories with illnesses (number of illnesses)	Alberta (1) Ontario (12) Quebec (4) Nova Scotia (1)
Hospitalizations	13
Deaths	2
Gender	72% female
Age range	7-89 67% of cases are 50 years of age or older
Food Recall	Yes, various Silk and Great Value brand plant-based refrigerated beverages recalled nationally
Investigation status	Active

Recalled food

Food recall warnings have been issued for plant-based refrigerated beverages from:

• Silk
• Great Value

For more information on the recalled products, please consult the Canadian Food inspection Agency (CFIA) recall notice on the Government of Canada Recalls and Safety Alerts website.

Food recall warning: Various Silk and Great Value brand plant-based refrigerated beverages recalled due to Listeria monocytogenes

How to protect your health

Listeriosis is a foodborne bacterial illness that can affect anyone exposed to a contaminated food product, including the recalled products.

While healthy individuals can fall ill from a Listeria infection, the disease can be fatal for unborn babies, newborns, individuals over age 60, and those with weakened immune systems.

The following advice applies to individuals across Canada:

• Check to see if you have recalled products in your homes or establishment by looking for the specific product name and size, UPC and codes in the recall alert.
• Do not consume, serve, use, sell or distribute recalled products or any product made with them.
• Recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the location where they were purchased. Consumers who are unsure if they have purchased the recalled products are advised to contact their retailer.
• Do not cook food for other people if you've been diagnosed with a Listeria infection or any other gastrointestinal illness.
• Contact your health care provider if you think you're experiencing symptoms of Listeria infection.

Those who are most at risk of becoming sick with severe listeriosis include:

• People with weakened immune systems (unable to fight diseases easily).
• Adults over the age of 60. The risk increases with age due to a weakening immune system.
• People who are pregnant, including their unborn or newborn baby.

What are the complication risks?

If you have severe listeriosis, you can develop meningitis (a brain infection) and/or blood poisoning. Severe listeriosis can be fatal.
Although people infected while pregnant may only experience mild, flu-like symptoms, listeriosis can spread to their unborn baby, and it can cause:

• a miscarriage
  • this is when your baby dies in the womb before the 20th week of pregnancy
• a stillbirth
  • this is when your baby dies in the womb after 20 weeks of pregnancy (before delivery)
• a premature birth
• life-threatening illness in your baby shortly after birth

Symptoms

Symptoms of listeriosis can start as early as 3 days after eating contaminated food. You may have the following symptoms:

• fever
• nausea
• cramps
• diarrhea
• vomiting
• headache
• constipation
• muscle aches

In severe cases, the bacteria can spread to the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord and nerves). Symptoms of severe listeriosis include:

• stiff neck
• confusion
• headache
• loss of balance

Symptoms of severe listeriosis may appear up to 70 days after you have been exposed to Listeria.

Listeriosis (Listeria)

Food safety for vulnerable populations

Investigation summary

There are 18 laboratory-confirmed cases of Listeria monocytogenes illness linked to this outbreak in:

• Alberta (1)
• Ontario (12)
• Quebec (4)
• Nova Scotia (1)

People became sick between August 2023 and early July 2024. Of the cases reported to us, thirteen people have been hospitalized and two individuals have died. Many people who became sick reported drinking recalled plant-based beverages before their illnesses occurred.

People who became sick are between 7 and 89 years old. Most of them are:

• adults 50 years of age or older (67%)
• female (72%).

More recent illnesses may continue to be reported in the outbreak because there is a period between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported to public health officials. For this outbreak, the illness reporting period is between 9 and 29 days.

This outbreak may not be limited to the provinces or territories with known illnesses because the recalled plant-based beverages were distributed to nationally.

Related links

• Various Silk and Great Value brand plant-based refrigerated beverages recalled due to Listeria monocytogenes
• Ontario Warns About Product Recall Due to Listeria Contamination
• Risks of listeriosis (Listeria)
• Safe food handling practices
• Email subscription service for Public Health Notices
• Recall subscription service

SOURCE Public Health Agency of Canada

Contact us: Public Health Agency of Canada, Media Relations, Telephone: 613-957-2983, Email: media@hc-sc.gc.ca; Public inquiries, Telephone: 1-866-225-0709 (toll-free), Email: info@hc-sc.gc.ca

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/public-health-notice-outbreak-of-listeria-infections-linked-to-recalled-plant-based-refrigerated-beverages-835874627.html

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Public Health Notice: Outbreak of Listeria infections linked to recalled plant-based refrigerated beverages


August 12, 2024: Update

This outbreak investigation is ongoing. The public health notice will be updated as the investigation evolves.

At a glance


Do not consume, use, sell, serve or distribute various recalled plant-based refrigerated beverages
...

At a glance

Illnesses 20 Provinces and territories with illnesses (number of illnesses)

Alberta (1) Ontario (13) Quebec (5) Nova Scotia (1)

Hospitalizations 15

Deaths 3

Gender 65% female

Age range 7-89 70% of cases are 50 years of age or older

Food Recall Yes, various Silk and Great Value brand plant-based refrigerated beverages recalled nationally

Investigation status Active

...
Recalled food


Food recall warnings have been issued for plant-based refrigerated beverages from:

• Silk
• Great Value

For more information on the recalled products, please consult the Canadian Food inspection Agency (CFIA) recall notice on the Government of Canada Recalls and Safety Alerts website.

Food recall warning: Various Silk and Great Value brand plant-based refrigerated beverages recalled due to Listeria monocytogenes

...

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/public-health-notices/2024/outbreak-listeria-infections-recalled-refrigerated-plant-based-beverages.html

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Translation Google

Listeriosis outbreak linked to plant-based milks appears to be slowing

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) says the Listeria outbreak linked to several plant-based milks appears to be slowing down. No new cases have been reported in the past two weeks.

Published yesterday at 12:11 p.m.
HANNAH ALBERGA
The Canadian Press

PHAC's director of outbreak management, however, stresses that it will not be able to declare the end of the epidemic until early October due to the Listeria incubation period, which can last up to 70 days, and the reporting delay that accompanies new cases.

April Hexemer says the last case count reported on Aug. 12 remains unchanged, with 20 people infected in four provinces and three deaths in Ontario.

The agency linked a Listeria case reported in August 2023 to a larger outbreak after several infections emerged in Ontario last June.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced on July 8 a national recall of several Silk and Great Value brand herbal beverages.

The source of the illness was traced to a specific production line at a third-party packaging facility in Pickering, Ontario, used by Danone Canada.

https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/sante/2024-08-23/l-epidemie-de-listeriose-liee-aux-laits-vegetaux-semble-ralentir.php

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Translation Google

Ontario

A plant-based milk factory was the source of the 2024 listeriosis outbreak, according to the CFIA.


(Toronto) Documents detailing the inspection of a beverage production plant, believed to be the source of a deadly listeriosis outbreak, reveal that the plant was cited for several previously undisclosed infractions. Some of these suggested, according to experts, that it may have created a "Listeria breeding ground."

Published at 12:35
Hannah Alberga
The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press obtained, through an access to information request, a copy of an inspection report conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) at a plant in Pickering, Ontario, which packaged several types of plant-based milks initially recalled on July 8, 2024 by the CFIA due to concerns about listeria contamination.

The Public Health Agency of Canada indicated that the outbreak had resulted in 20 reported cases of illness, 15 hospitalizations and 3 deaths.

The problems identified by inspectors between June 26, 2024, and August 22, 2024, included condensation on the ceiling and peeling paint on the floor in the pasteurization areas of Joriki, the third-party plant that packaged soy, almond, and coconut milk for the Silk and Great Value brands. The Pickering production line was immediately shut down following the recall and never resumed operations.

Although parts of the document have been redacted, food safety experts say the visible details reveal "major red flags" at the factory that should have prompted health authorities to act sooner.

"The CFIA should have inspected this factory at a much higher frequency," said Lawrence Goodridge, a professor of food safety at the University of Guelph.

"This could have been avoided."

In response to criticism that it should have detected these violations earlier, the CFIA stated that it was the company's responsibility to produce safe food and that the federal agency's role was to conduct inspections and exercise risk-based oversight.

Joriki was not classified as high risk by the CFIA in 2021, according to a model that the federal agency has since been adapting to take into account potential food safety concerns, consumer complaints and historical trends.

"The 2024 listeriosis outbreak highlighted the importance of rigorous surveillance in emerging product categories, such as plant-based beverages, and the CFIA is taking decisive steps to modernize and strengthen its systems," the federal agency said.

Danone Canada, which markets Silk products, said it was unable to comment due to ongoing legal proceedings. The company, Walmart Canada, and Intact Insurance reached a $6.5 million settlement in November as part of a class-action lawsuit filed by Canadians who purchased or consumed the recalled plant-based milk.

Joriki ceased operations at the end of 2024. Its court-appointed representative did not respond to repeated requests for comment regarding this inspection, made by email and voicemail for over a month.

The Canadian Press has been trying since 2024 to get comments from Joriki on media coverage related to the epidemic, but has never received a response.

Joriki disputed the CFIA's claims to the Globe and Mail , stating in a December 2024 article that it had a listeria monitoring program, which included sampling on the production line and testing on finished products.

The company also stated that the CFIA had never raised any concerns about its program before the outbreak.

Warning signs

Listeria is ubiquitous in the environment and can spread easily in food processing plants, making sterilization of every corner of the facilities essential.

Lori Burrows, a microbiologist at McMaster University in Hamilton, pointed out that the peeling paint mentioned in the inspector's report therefore posed a major problem for disinfection.

"It's like the difference between wiping a countertop and wiping a lawn," explained Ms. Burrows .

Bacteria also thrive in humid environments, such as surfaces with condensation, which the report said was found on the ceiling in the dosing and pasteurization areas of the Joriki plant.

Not only does condensation provide an ideal environment for listeria to thrive, but the fact that it was on the ceiling means it could have dripped directly onto the produce, she added.

The federal inspection also revealed that trash and empty cartons had accumulated in the loading area, which Mr. Goodridge said could have attracted disease-carrying mice and rats.

"This shows me systemic failures in the factory with regard to food safety, a lack, a glaring lack, of food safety procedures," he said.

"The factory where the drink was manufactured may well have been a breeding ground for Listeria."

Failure for food security

One of the first lessons Professor Claudia Narvaez-Bravo teaches her students about food safety at the University of Manitoba is how to develop a plan to control and prevent contamination. In the industry, this step is known as Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP).

Health Canada's Listeria policy is based on the HACCP principles of identifying, assessing and controlling risks to food safety.

The CFIA inspection report states, in a partially redacted entry, that the factory "does not mention listeria as a hazard".

Even without knowing the full context, Ms. Narvaez -Bravo stated that the absence of this fundamental principle was concerning.

"When dealing with ready-to-eat foods, Listeria monocytogenes is always a problem. You always have to keep Listeria monocytogenes in mind," she said.

"The fact that they did not document it and did not have an adequate hygiene program clearly indicates that this combination was a source of problems."

The inspection also indicates that the finished product "is not tested for Listeria."

In a subsequent report, the federal agency stated that Joriki "had not properly implemented environmental sampling and testing on finished products."

"Basically, this is a failure to adhere to the fundamental principles of food safety in this particular establishment," summarized Ms. Narvaez -Bravo.

https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/2026-04-17/ontario/une-usine-de-lait-vegetal-a-l-origine-de-l-epidemie-de-listeriose-en-2024-selon-l-acia.php