Food hygieNe & SAFety 17
Manufacturers and regulators must
learn from listeriosis mistakes
n 1981 a significant listeriosis outbreak According to the report, at the outset of the
Following a listeriosis
outbreak in Canada
last year in which 22
I
in Nova Scotia, Canada, resulted in 41 2008 listeriosis outbreak, Maple Leaf Foods was
cases and 18 deaths. In this incident, viewed as a good company using the latest food
the contamination was traced to safety control systems. It viewed itself then, and
people died, an official
coleslaw. Cabbages grown on a farm where continues to view itself now, as a leader in the
report calls for safety
to be considered in an
listeria-contaminated sheep manure was used industry.
overall context that
as a fertiliser were found to be the source of the The Bartor Road plant was considered by
includes processing
outbreak. At the time, it was the largest outbreak many to be a compliant plant in that it routinely
equipment suppliers, of its kind in the world and the first time that met all the regulatory requirements under the
food manufacturers, and listeria monocytogenes was proven to cause food- federal Meat Inspection Act and got satisfactory
government regulators.
borne illness in humans. In 2002, a listeriosis marks for complying with the government’s
outbreak in Quebec involved 17 cases and was inspection and testing tasks.
also associated with cheese. When Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s
Suite à une éruption de
listériose au Canada l’an
However, in the summer of 2008 Canada (CFIA) inspectors identified any compliance
dernier, au cours de
had its most lethal contact – with two separate problems, the plant addressed them. Bartor
laquelle 22 personnes ont
outbreaks of the pathogen. The initial Road’s management maintained the necessary
trouvé la mort, un
outbreak, again linked to cheese, gave rise to required records, ensured that staff training
rapport officiel demande 38 confirmed cases and two deaths in Quebec. took place, and made sure its quality assurance
que la sécurité soit prise
However, this was not related to the second programme was completed.
en compte dans un
and most devastating outbreak. By the end of Much of the credit for Maple Leaf Foods’
contexte global incluant
this outbreak, listeriosis was confirmed in 57 good reputation rested with the firm’s in-house
les fournisseurs
people and was reported as the underlying safety plan. The company had introduced its
d’équipements de
traitement, les fabricants
or contributing cause of death for 22 of these own food safety procedures – which includes
alimentaires et les
individuals. Though the majority were in a comprehensive HACCP1 plan, an additional
organismes de
Ontario, illnesses occurred in seven provinces layer of food safety protection at the end of the
réglementation de l’État. throughout the country. 1990s – years earlier than was required by the
The 181-page Report of the independent regulations.
investigator into the 2008 listeriosis outbreak begins Like most food processors, Maple Leaf
Nach dem
by emphasising that the numbers mentioned Foods’ food safety approach laid out a hazard
Listerioseausbruch letztes
Jahr in Kanada, bei dem 22
above do not adequately describe the human monitoring and control programme. As a
Menschen starben, ruft ein
impact of this outbreak, which affected mostly general rule, these plans are effective. Over 400
offizieller Bericht auf,
frail, elderly individuals living in long-term care meat processing companies across the country
Sicherheitsfragen in einem
homes. Several people hospitalised because of produce tonnes of food products daily without
umfassenden Kontext zu other diseases, such as cancer that weakened incident. In fact, like many of Canada’s ready-to-
untersuchen, der Anbieter
their immune systems that left them susceptible eat meat processing plants, Bartor Road actually
von Verarbeitungsgeräten,
to listeria infection, also fell ill. went beyond the policy and requirements in that
Lebensmittelhersteller
In fact the outbreak analysis shows that almost the company had an extensive environmental
und Regierungsbehörden
80 per cent of those who developed listeriosis testing programme of its own. Doing more than
umfasst.
lived in a long-term care home or was admitted was required did not guarantee the company was
to a hospital that had served deli-meats taken trouble-free.
from large packages contaminated with listeria As early as summer and fall of 2007, the
monocytogenes. company’s environmental testing programme
showed positive listeria environmental test results
Back to the source
from production lines 7 and 8 in the plant, every
The outbreak was eventually traced to Maple two to three weeks, at various locations on those
Leaf Foods of Weston, Ontario. The report notes lines.
that like all firms operating food processing This pattern carried on into 2008 (see Table
plants regulated by the federal government, 1). For example, in the first week of February,
Maple Leaf Foods was required to maintain a the plant’s environmental test results showed
hygienic operating environment in order to an increase in the number of positive listeria
control bacteria. results from line 7. The problem also occurred
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