Maple Leaf plant cleared to distribute meat

By Tom Johnston on 10/22/2008

MeatingPlace

Meat from a Maple Leaf Foods plant that was linked to an outbreak of listeriosis that has killed 20 people in Canada has been cleared for consumption, the Toronto-based company said.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada have completed evaluations of the effectiveness of listeria monitoring and control measures at the Bartor Road facility and concluded that, aside from one production line, the plant's products are safe for consumption and can be released for distribution.

Maple Leaf shut down operations at Bartor Road on Aug. 20 after listeria contamination was detected and linked to the outbreak. After completing a sanitization process, the company resumed production on Sept. 17. Since then, the company noted, 60 product samples have been taken from each line daily.

"This is by far the most rigorous testing and sampling program in North America, during this monitoring period," Maple Leaf said on its Web site. "No products from the plant that tested positive for listeria have been distributed and the protocols we have in place have proven to be very effective."

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