| Last updated at 8:55 PM on 28/08/08 |
Listeriosis death toll climbs to eight as consumer group demands action  
The Canadian Press
TORONTO — The number of confirmed deaths in a listeriosis outbreak that’s been linked to meat products made by Maple Leaf Foods took a sharp jump Thursday as a national consumer advocacy group called the outbreak an “outrageous” situation that never should have happened.
Eight deaths, all of them in Ontario, are now being blamed on the outbreak, while seven others — four in Ontario and one each in Quebec, B.C. and Saskatchewan — remain under investigation, say federal health officials.
At last count Thursday, a total of 29 cases had been linked to the outbreak and 36 others remained under investigation.
Eleanor Friedland, vice-president of the Consumers Council of Canada, said she doesn’t believe the federal government when it says consumer safety is a top priority.
“If that’s the case, how come (so many) people have died and we don’t know how many more will be showing symptoms?” Friedland said.
“The ball fell through and consumer confidence is right down the tubes, with respect to government and companies like Maple Leaf. It’s absolutely outrageous.”
Friedland’s comments came on a day that saw family and friends bid a final farewell to an eastern Ontario woman whose sudden death Monday is being blamed by family members on listeriosis.
Frances Clark, 89, was remembered as being “full of fun” by her friend Shirley Sutton after some 60 people paid their respects at a funeral in the tiny town of Madoc, Ont., 40 kilometres north of Belleville.
Reports say prior to falling ill, Clark spent time in a hospital and a nursing home where recalled Maple Leaf meat products were being served. The family is still waiting to hear from medical officials whether Clark’s case was part of the outbreak.
“I think that it should be investigated at the nursing home, but I think the plant in which all this has developed, it certainly should be checked into very, very thoroughly,” said Sutton, 73.
Friedland called on the federal government to ramp up inspections and for municipal and provincial governments to bully Ottawa into paying attention to the matter, which she suspects will be a major election issue should Canada be headed for a fall election.
“It’s affecting more and more people than you can possibly imagine,” Friedland said, adding she has heard from many concerned citizens in the wake of the outbreak and recalls of Maple Leaf products.
“School lunches are going to have to be re-thought, hospitals, cafeteria — this is a major, major consumer issue.”
At a news conference Thursday in Ottawa, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said about 15,000 institutions, distributors and retailers had been checked and affected products were being removed — evidence, he said, of a recall that’s “working well.”
It has also continued to expand: barely an hour after Ritz’s news conference, the Public Health Agency of Canada added two more products to a recall list that now numbers well in excess of 230 items.
Late Wednesday, PHAC recalled a variety of cooked ham and salami sandwiches sold at Sobeys, Foodland and IGA stores across Ontario. On Thursday, the company added two more products to the list: 230-gram white and whole wheat “deli lunch box wraps” (UPC codes 267214 603599 and 227271 603598).
The items, which carry “packed on” dates up to and including Aug. 24, contained meat that was recalled by Maple Leaf Foods the very same day, when it pulled all 220 items that had been produced at the Toronto facility that’s proven to be ground zero for the outbreak.
PHAC spokesman Dr. Mark Raizenne said Canadians who are most at risk of listeria remain the elderly, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems.
“The important message for people is that if you have the symptoms that are associated with listeriosis that you take precautionary actions as you see fit, in terms of seeing a health professional or public health person,” Raizenne said.
Early symptoms — including nausea, vomiting, cramps, diarrhea, headache, constipation and persistent fever — can appear similar to the flu, and should be assessed by a doctor if they persist or get worse, he warned.
On Wednesday, Costco Wholesale Canada also recalled two types of meat platters sold at its warehouses under the Kirkland Signature brand with best-before dates up to and including Aug. 28.
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