Maple Leaf Foods Update On Its Bartor Road Facility And Positive Test Results For Listeria

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Article Date: 11 Oct 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Maple Leaf Foods (TSX/MFI) has posted the background materials distributed at a news conference.

Documents provided with this advisory are:

-- Listeria Fact Sheet
-- Media Backgrounder on Positive Test Results at Bartor Road

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a leading food processing company, headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The Company employs approximately 23,000 people at its operations across Canada and in the United States, the United Kingdom and Asia. The company had sales of $5.2 billion in 2007.

Maple Leaf Foods Bartor Road Positive Test Results
Media Backgrounder

Maple Leaf Foods voluntarily recalled 191 products produced at its Bartor Road facility from January 1, 2008, to present, as a precautionary measure after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Public Health Agency of Canada concluded that the same Listeria monocytogenes strain identified in some Maple Leaf products was linked to the illness and loss of life of several Canadians.

-- The Bartor Road plant began phasing in production on September 17, 2008.

-- The plant has been operating within a very highly controlled and monitored environment, with daily on-site inspection and oversight by the CFIA to ensure the effectiveness of food safety protocols.

-- As part of the controlled plant start-up, all products have been subject to a hold and release program to test for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes (Listeria mono.).

-- Nearly 6,000 samples in total have been taken to date, (5,040 product and 841 environmental). We have received 3,850 product test results that include production through to October 2nd, all of which have tested negative with the exception of four product samples (0.1%) produced on Line 7 and one environmental swab (0.15%).

-- No products from the plant, including the four product samples that tested positive, have been distributed for public consumption and the protocols we have in place have proven to be very effective.

-- We are being ultra-cautious in this facility. Maple Leaf and the CFIA has placed all product on hold pending a confirmation that these findings are validated, reflecting the conservative approach to phasing in the start-up of the Bartor Road plant.

The Facts

-- Of 841 environmental samples taken to date, we have obtained 671 results, of which only one (0.15%) has tested positive for listeria species.

-- 60 product samples are taken from each line daily. Samples are taken off the line every 8-12 minutes:
- 5 products are put into a composite test
- One day = 12 composite samples

-- Of 5,040 product samples taken to date, we have obtained 3,850 test results, all of which have been negative for Listeria mono. except for four samples, which all came from line 7.

-- The four samples that tested positive were from two products, Hygrade smoked meat and Coorsh smoked meat.

-- No products have been released for distribution and there is no risk to the public.

Background:

-- Listeria is pervasive in the environment and exists in all food plants. While it can be reduced it can never be eliminated. The more you test the greater the probability that you will find listeria.

-- As Health Canada states, the incidence of Listeria mono. in RTE foods ranges from 1-10%. Put another way, one in every 200 products will test positive for Listeria mono. To most people, Listeria mono. poses a very low risk.

-- The Bartor Road plant is subject to the most rigorous testing and inspection in North America. It has a number of checks in place to ensure we verify on a continuous basis the effectiveness of our food safety protocols.

-- The standard protocol for positive tests in a Maple Leaf plant is immediate product quarantine and remediation through sanitization programs.

-- The four product samples from Line 7 that tested positive have not been shipped to customers and all remaining production since the plant re-opened is 100% within our control.

-- None of our products in the market are affected.

-- Our testing protocols are doing what they are intended - identifying listeria so that it can be remediated. We are upholding the highest standard of food safety vigilance in Canada.

Background information on listeria, Listeria monocytogenes and related health risks

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Source: Food Directorate, Health Canada, Policy on Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-To-Eat (RTE) Foods, July 2004

-- International experts of the World Health Organization (1988) concluded that "the total elimination of Listeria monocytogenes (Listeria mono.) from all foods is impractical and may be impossible"

-- It is estimated that 5% of humans carry Listeria mono. in their intestines without ill effects.

-- Occasionally this organism causes an infection - listeriosis. The highest incident is among newborns, the elderly and immuno- compromised individuals.

-- A number of major foodborne outbreaks have been documented in Europe and NA. In Canada there have been relatively few outbreaks.

-- Listeria mono. has been found in a wide range of foods, including unpasteurized cheeses, cold cuts, smoked fish, shellfish and vegetables.

-- The incidence of Listeria mono. in RTE foods ranges from 1-10% (or approximately one in every 200 products). It can be assumed, therefore, that Canadians are consuming foods contaminated with this organism on a regular basis.

-- Although the minimum infectious dose (MID) for Listeria mono. has not been determined, if the MID were low, one would expect many more cases of listeriosis to be reported than are currently observed. In fact, from the limited outbreak data available, there is little evidence that low numbers of Listeria mono. in a food will cause listeriosis, even in susceptible individuals. (FAO 1999)

-- Therefore, the likelihood of any one food contaminated with low numbers of Listeria mono. resulting in illness, based on current data from around the world, must be considered remote.

LISTERIA FACT SHEET

LISTERIA - There are six different species of the bacterium Listeria. Only one of these species Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) causes human illness - the others are usually harmless for humans. Listeria can be found almost everywhere and has been isolated from a number of sources, including soil, water and foods. It has evolved the ability to survive in a variety of different environmental conditions, including moist environments like refrigerators, and under a variety of stress conditions.

STRAINS - Within L. monocytogenes, a multitude of different strains (e.g. more than 300 strains identified in one study) have been documented. Strains can be defined by a variety of methods, including a process known as pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) which gives different "genetic fingerprint" patterns.

LISTERIA AND FOOD - Listeria can be found in unprocessed food such as raw dairy products, meat, poultry, fish, as well as processed foods such as deli meats, hot dogs, cheese and ice-cream. It is sometimes found in raw vegetables. It can also be spread with an infected product or surface, such as hands or kitchen counters during food preparation.

LISTERIOSIS - This is the serious infection caused by eating food containing L. monocytogenes. Listeriosis usually occurs only in people with weakened immune systems (e.g. AIDS patients, organ transplant recipients, cancer patients), the elderly, pregnant women, and newborns. The infection can begin with fever and gastrointestinal symptoms, but can spread to the blood stream and/or the nervous system giving symptoms of meningitis. In pregnant women, L. monocytogenes can also spread to the fetus, causing premature delivery, miscarriages or infections of the newborn baby.

For more information about Listeriosis visit the Public Health Agency of Canada website at www.publichealth.gc.ca.

INCUBATION PERIOD - The incubation period can be as much as 70 days after exposure for the more serious forms of Listeriosis, however symptoms usually appear within two to 30 days. For the milder forms, it can be as little as one day.

INCIDENCE OF ILLNESS - The disease listeriosis is very rare, affecting an estimated 1-5 in 1,000,000 people per year in most developed countries. In people contracting the disease it can be very serious - an estimated 20% of people with this disease die due to listeriosis. Pregnant women are 20 times more likely to get listeriosis (as compared to healthy individuals), and account for about a third of all listeriosis cases. Persons with AIDS are about 850 times more likely to get listeriosis, as compared to healthy individuals.

CONSUMER RISK - Even if L. monocytogenes is absent in ready-to-eat meat and poultry products after processing, or found at very low prevalence and levels, additional contamination can occur after the packs are opened - especially when the meat is handled. Although L. monocytogenes can grow while refrigerated, growth is very slow at temperatures below 4ºC. In ready-to-eat foods stored at higher temperatures, for example above 7ºC, growth occurs more rapidly, increasing the risk that L. monocytogenes will reach levels more likely to cause human illness. Both safe food handling and maintaining proper refrigeration temperatures are critical to minimizing the risk of listeriosis.

COOKED MEAT - Listeria is killed by cooking. Thoroughly cooking product to 165ºF/74ºC will kill the bacteria. Consumers at high risk for contracting listeriosis (e.g. pregnant women and the elderly) should reheat deli meats immediately before consumption.

FREEZING - Listeria is not killed by freezing. Growth is arrested altogether, but normal growth will be resumed after thawing.

DELI PLANTS - Listeria is everywhere, so elimination is out of the question. Listeria is expected to enter any meat plant with raw materials and personnel and once inside, it can live almost anywhere - on floors, drains, cooling, ventilation, slicing and packaging equipment. The strategy for the food industry remains one of risk mitigation driven by robust surveillance and sanitation programs. Regular cleaning and sanitation is needed to prevent growth and survival of this organism, including disassembly and deep cleaning in harbourage points of equipment, and contamination of the surfaces in contact with ready-to-eat meats.

SURVEILLANCE - Control of Listeria in a manufacturing plant is monitored by a program of regular swabbing and sampling from the plant "environment". There are standard remedial procedures for immediately re-testing any sites that test positive for Listeria species, including supplementary cleaning protocols. Environmental testing is industry best practice to detect and manage Listeria in a food processing plant. It is more informative than finished product testing, as it points to the source as a target for further sanitation.

INFECTIVE DOSE - How many bacteria are needed to cause an infection? The quantity of bacteria on food is expressed as the number of colony-forming units per gram (CFU/g). Levels of 100 CFU/g in food at point of consumption are regarded as safe, meaning that people consuming foods with low levels of L. monocytogenes have an extremely low risk of contracting listeriosis. As with all disease-causing micro-organisms there is no threshold below which there is a true "zero" risk for human illness. Estimates based on US data suggest though that less than 0.2% of the 2,500 listeriosis cases that occur annually in the US are caused by foods contaminated with 100 or less CFU per serving. By contrast, more than 80% of these cases are caused by foods contaminated with more than one million CFU per serving. Thus foods that contain extremely high levels of L. represent the main risk for consumers.

CARRIERS - Companion animals (pets) and humans can be asymptomatic carriers of Listeria monocytogenes. Transmission of L. monocytogenes by a carrier to another person is probably rare, due to the small dose of bacteria received. Equally airborne infection is rare and has never been reported.

LIVESTOCK - All classes of livestock and thus raw meat may contain Listeria. Raw meat must therefore always be treated as a potential source of L. monocytogenes.

RESISTANCE TO SANITIZERS - There is evidence that some strains of Listeria monocytogenes may show resistance to certain sanitizers, including quaternary ammonia-based sanitizers. In addition and more importantly, L. monocytogenes can survive and multiply in harborage points in processing plants. These harborage points may be places that cannot be reached by sanitizers. Identification and elimination of harborage points, for example with the help of environmental sampling and testing programs, is thus crucial for controlling L. monocytogenes in food processing plants.

L. MONOCYTOGENES CONTAMINATION AT THE BARTOR FACILITY- This was investigated by a global panel of leading Listeria experts. The panel that the most likely source of the Listeria contamination was a harborage point deep within the slicing equipment. Other possible factors and entry points were nearby drains and a service elevator. The panel recommended additional enhancements to the Company's extensive cleaning and environmental sampling procedures be introduced for all possible risk areas.

THE INCIDENCE OF LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES IN PRODUCTS - Based on finished product testing conducted at Bartor Road from production since start-up through to and including October 2nd:

-- The Bartor Road rate is 0.1% (four in 3,850 test results).

-- According to USDA Food Safety and Inspection Services data, the rate in :
- Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Meats and Poultry products is in the range of 0.3 to 1% - this is three to 10 times higher than at Bartor Road.
- In Deli and Sliced Meats, the number was 0.8% - this is eight times higher than at Bartor Road.

-- According to the Journal of Food Protection, by Gomas et al, the incidence in RTE foods is "up to 0.4%"

-- In Canada, the incidence in beef and poultry RTE vacuum packed products was found to be 3 to 5% based on a 2006 study from the University of Alberta

-- The bacteria is highly prevalent in raw meat cuts (raw materials coming into the plant). Numerous studies have shown prevalence to be in the 20 to 30% range.

THE INCIDENCE OF LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES IN THE ENVIRONMENT - Based on environmental testing for Listeria species conducted at Bartor Road from production since start-up through to and including October 2nd:

-- The Bartor Road rate is 0.15% (one in 671 test results)

-- According to USDA Food Safety and Inspection Services data, the incidence in North American plants of Listeria mono. (which is a subset of the Listeria Species we use) is 1.9% - about 13 times higher than at Bartor Road.

ERADICATION - Listeria is everywhere, so elimination is out of the question. Instead, the strategy for the food industry remains one of risk mitigation driven by robust surveillance and sanitation programs. A major part of this is to detect the presence of L. monocytogenes in processing plants before it reaches food contact surfaces and product, and to immediately control the bacteria as soon as it is found. In addition, efforts to reduce introduction of the organisms into food processing plants are critical. As well, design and use of food processing equipment that does not represent growth niches for this organism is critical. Finally, it is important that efforts continue to understand the ability of this organism to survive and multiply under adverse conditions, and that this knowledge is used to design new strategies for control.

SOURCE: Maple Leaf Foods Inc.
http://www.mapleleaf.ca