By Leah Schnurr and Roberta Rampton
TORONTO/WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - The head of Canada's biggest meat processor said on Wednesday his company was fully accountable for a nationwide outbreak of listeriosis food poisoning, which has been linked to deaths of 15 people.
"The buck stops right here," Maple Leaf Foods Inc "We have excellent systems and processes in place but this
week it's our best efforts that failed -- not the regulators,
not the Canadian food safety system," McCain said. "I emphasize this is our accountability and it's ours to
fix, which we are taking on fully." Samples of two deli meats produced at a Maple Leaf
processing plant in Toronto tested positive for the same strain
of listeria bacteria that has made dozens of Canadians sick
this summer, including 15 people who have since died. The company, which faces a series of class action suits,
has withdrawn all 220 or so products made at the plant as a
precaution in one of Canada's biggest-ever food recalls. The meats were shipped to nursing homes and hospitals as
well as to restaurants and stores. McCain said he did not know when the company would reopen
the Toronto plant, one of 23 it operates. Originally, the plant
was to have reopened on Tuesday, then on Thursday. Third-party experts were examining the plant to find the
root cause of the contamination, which McCain said might not be
possible to determine. The plant, which was closed on August 20, will not reopen
until that investigation is complete, he said. Maple Leaf shares rose almost 4 percent to C$8.29 on the
Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday, but have lost more than 20
percent of their value since the recalls began on August 17. Analysts have said the company's future will depend on its
ability to regain consumer confidence. McCain declined to provide any further details of the cost
of the recall, which the company had previously put at C$20
million ($19 million). He also would not comment on whether the
company had lost any contracts because of the outbreak.
SYSTEM DEFENDED Canadian health officials defended their inspection system,
which has been criticized by some members of the inspectors'
union as being sparse and too reliant on industry data. "We have an inspector in place on a daily basis when the
plant is running in order to oversee the production process, in
order to validate that the controls are indeed in place," said
Paul Mayers of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, noting the
approach was consistent with international standards. Listeria bacteria is pervasive, and can be found at low
levels in food processing plants, grocery stores, kitchens, and
on people's hands, McCain said. Maple Leaf and other processors focus their attention on
preventing listeria from being introduced into packaged foods
because it is possible to test contaminated food product and
not find the bacteria, he said. "It's tantamount to if you had a haystack with a needle in
it," he said. "You can walk out and take 10 samples of that haystack, you
likely won't find the needle. What adds value is address what
caused the needle getting in there in the first place." Once Maple Leaf's plant reopens, inspectors will rigorously
test and hold products made there for four to six weeks,
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz told a separate news
conference. ($1=$1.05 Canadian) (Reporting by Leah Schnurr and Roberta Rampton; editing by
Ted Kerr)
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