Food Safety

What is Listeria monocytogenes?
Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that is pervasive in the environment and found in soil, vegetation, animal feed and animal and human waste. The bacterium have also been known to contaminate cheese made from unpasteurized milk, raw and processed meat products, and can be found in unwashed vegetables. It is found in residential and industrial environments where food is prepared and it is destroyed through cooking.

What has been concluded by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Public Health Agency of Canada about products from the Bartor Road facility?
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Public Health Agency of Canada concluded that the strain of listeria bacteria which is linked to the illness and loss of life of several Canadians matches the same listeria strain identified in some Maple Leaf food products. As listeriosis affects high risk groups it has not been confirmed to be the sole cause of death.

Are some people at higher risk of illness than others?
Consumption of food contaminated with the listeria bacteria may cause listeriosis, a food borne illness. The elderly, the very young, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk. Symptoms can include high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Infected pregnant women may experience only a mild, flu-like illness, however, infections during pregnancy can lead to premature delivery, infection of the newborn, or even stillbirth. If you have any concerns you may have listeriosis, you should contact a doctor immediately. More information is available at www.inspection.gc.ca.

Do you expect there will be further cases as a result of the contamination?
Because the onset of symptoms of listeriosis can occur up to 70 days after contaminated food is consumed, the number of confirmed and suspected cases may continue to increase over the next several weeks. Up-to-date information on the number of cases in the outbreak is available on the website of the Public Health Agency of Canada and is updated daily.

Is the recall complete?
All recalled products have been removed from all major grocery stores and food service establishments, as well as warehouse inventory and Maple Leaf distribution centres.

How is the recalled product being disposed of?
Final disposal of product previously held at Maple Leaf Foods or in customer and distributor warehouses will be overseen by the CFIA. It is expected that recalled products will be landfilled.

When will production resume at the Bartor Road facility?
The plant will gradually ramp up production, with no products distributed until the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Maple Leaf complete test runs to ensure the effectiveness of all food safety protocols.

How will we know that products being shipped are not part of the recall?
Recalled products have been removed from store shelves, food service operators, as well as warehouse inventory and Maple Leaf’s distribution centres. In addition, products with production date of September 17, and beyond are not part of the recall.

What caused the listeria contamination at the Bartor Road plant?
We believe the most likely source was deep inside the mechanical components of two identical slicing machines. There were other possible contributing environmental factors but they were not product contact surfaces.

Do you have similar slicing equipment across Maple Leaf and what have you done with it?
We have comprehensively inspected all 84 slicing machines in the Maple Leaf network. Fourteen of these are from the same manufacturer as the Bartor Road slicing machines. They have all been disassembled, deep sanitized and swab tested, and will undergo regular deep sanitization as part of our enhanced cleaning protocols. All of our slicing equipment is undergoing regular comprehensive deep cleaning.

What actions have you taken to fix the problem at the plant?
We voluntarily shut down all operations at the plant on August 20th. Since then we have been conducting a comprehensive investigation and deep sanitization of the plant, working in close consultation with the CFIA. Our comprehensive sanitization activities included the following:

The plant has undergone six complete sanitization cycles, well beyond normal cleaning practices, under the supervision of external microbiologists and sanitation experts.
The slicing equipment involved in the recall has been completely torn down, deep cleaned and tested multiple times.
The effectiveness of sanitation has been verified through intensified tear-downs and swabbing, involving over 1,200 tests for listeria from various points on all production lines and throughout the plant.
We have also completed other operational improvements, including enhanced drain sanitation protocols, restricted use of elevators near production lines, and additional food safety training for our people.
What enhanced food safety protocols are Maple Leaf putting in place as the plant resumes production?
All slicing equipment across the Maple Leaf networks is now subject to even more stringent cleaning and testing protocols, which includes additional daily disassembly prior to daily cleaning, and regularly scheduled intensive disassembly to verify elimination of potential harborage points. These steps well exceed manufacturers’ instructions. We have also enhanced our regular environmental Listeria monitoring program, more than doubling the sampling sites and frequency of testing. Our testing protocol far exceeds industry standards.

No products will be released from the plant until the CFIA and Maple Leaf are fully satisfied that our food safety protocols are effective. This will include test runs before any new product is distributed.

What changes are you making at your other plants?
The permanent changes we are making at Bartor Road will be implemented at our other packaged meat plants. These include regular disassembly of slicing equipment and deep sanitation on a regular basis, increased environmental testing, and additional employee training related to new operating procedures and control of food-borne pathogens.

What testing do you conduct at your facilities?
In accordance with Health Canada, CFIA and global best practices, testing includes swabbing work surfaces in our meat plants daily to determine if bacteria, including listeria species, are present. At the Bartor Road plant over 3,000 swabs are conducted annually. Samples are analyzed at the microbiology lab on-site. It typically takes two to three days to complete the analysis. Results are also verified through external microbiology reviews. If listeria is present we implement a three stage investigation process where we sanitize and test three times. Each test must yield a negative result before we determine that listeria has been eradicated.

Is Maple Leaf doing a hold and test program at the Bartor Road plant?
CFIA has requested as part of the start-up tests that we do a product hold and release program. This will continue while they validate the effectiveness of our food safety protocols at the plant. Environmental testing continues to be the best way to detect and manage listeria in a food plant and we are expanding our ongoing testing program.

How much has this recall impacted sales?
We are going to provide updated financial information when we disclose our third quarter financial results. We are polling consumers on an ongoing basis and they continue to give us very positive feedback on how we have managed the recall. We hope that this confidence and support, along with the actions we are taking, will allow us to quickly restore normalcy. However that is for consumers to decide.

How much has the recall cost and what is the related impact to your business?
The estimate of costs related to the recall is approximately $20M excluding any impact on the brand and related sales volumes. We will update this as more information becomes available.

What actions is Maple Leaf taking to restore confidence in the brand?
Our first priority was to complete the recall, identify and fix the problem and re-open the plant. We will now assess the impact on consumer confidence and steps needed to rebuild the brand. We are focused on refilling the stores, supplying our foodservice customers, continuing with our planned seasonal promotions and launch of new products. The products that were recalled were a very small portion of our total product lines.

What is your financial exposure related to the class action lawsuits?
It is still very early in the process, but we have liability insurance that we expect will cover the cost of claims as we work through the legal process.