Another recall…can’t Maple Leaf get it right????
August 4th, 2009 by Dr. Randy HuffmanIn the early hours of this morning, Maple Leaf announced a voluntary recall of a number of wiener products. This has many people asking “why another Listeria recall – can’t Maple Leaf get it right?”
It’s a fair question.
The truth is that the events of last summer and the events of this week could not be more different.
In spring of 2008, our food safety practices were not nearly as good as they are now. We thought they were good then, but we were wrong. Our testing program allowed a serious accumulation of Listeria in one of our slicers to go undetected. By the time of the recall, food had gone out of our plant with enough Listeria in it that 22 Canadians died.
Following the tragedy of last summer, Michael McCain committed to making Maple Leaf Foods a world leader in food safety. I was hired as the Company’s Chief Food Safety Officer to make sure we put in place a world class program and with the authority to shut any plant, any time, if I think it isn’t safe enough.
In the past year, we have taken many actions to live up to that promise:
- New methods of sanitization that are the best practices in the world
- Extensive employee training on food safety and Listeria control
- Implementing new technologies that can either eliminate Listeria in the package, or reduce its growth during storage if it happens to be present.
- Doing far more aggressive testing than regulations require to find Listeria and eradicate it.
Despite all that, we have another recall???
Actually, it’s because of the testing protocol that we have another recall. Listeria is a common bacteria – it can be in virtually 100% of refrigerated food plants. It also exists at low levels in one out of every 200 ready-to-eat food products and even higher levels in many other foods we eat. Last August we had a concentration of Listeria in some of our products that was enough to make some people sick, and others died. We know a lot more now – we test more for Listeria, find it more and act more. And that’s a good thing for food safety.
Our environmental testing regime told us there was Listeria on a line in a wiener plant. Finding positives is a part of a well run environmental testing program. The process includes baseline levels of testing, enhanced levels of sanitation and testing, quarantine procedures and product testing. Each of these components is important to the process and in this case all components of this process were working exactly as designed and in compliance with the new CFIA Listeria directives. Upon receipt of positive results we immediately informed the federal government through the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. They felt upon assessment of our routine data that it was necessary to take additional tests. When this was done, out of over 230 products sampled, three were confirmed positive based upon the information we have to date. We recalled the product in this case to be ultra cautious.
This creates a real dilemma for us. I have to be frank with you. Nothing we can do – nothing anyone can do – will completely eliminate Listeria from the food supply. Listeria is found in about 0.5% of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products based upon best estimates from the USDA. This percentage means that one out of every 200 packages is likely to be positive. I know consumers might prefer that this number was zero, and food safety professionals certainly strive for this goal. Eliminating potentially harmful contaminants entirely is every food scientist’s Holy Grail. But being able to do that in a typical food processing plant is very difficult, if not impossible to do. The best we can do is get ever-closer – to work constantly to keep the level of Listeria as low as we know how to get it.
One thing that can improve our situation is have access to more rapid testing methods already widely used in the U.S. and Europe.
In Canada today, it takes on average about a week to get the results of a Listeria test. So if a test in a ready-to-eat food shows a potential food safety problem, the only way to address the problem is to recall the food … as much of it as hasn’t been eaten yet. Rapid testing done by labs in each plant cuts the time from a about one week to a day or two, providing us with information that allows us to act sooner at the plant. Maple Leaf will act immediately to implement rapid testing at our prepared meat plants when approved – and is pushing for government approval of these more rapid testing methods.
While faster testing will reduce the time that it takes for us to respond to Listeria when we find it, it does not eliminate the fact that it will be present from time to time. There are limitations to all test methods, and re-testing of products that have already passed a rigorous testing protocol may result in occasional subsequent positive findings, as was this case in this recent recall. There has undoubtedly been food on the market with greater concentrations of Listeria than the food we just recalled. However, consumers didn’t know about it and neither did the manufacturers or the regulators, because there wasn’t enough testing to find it. Our programs are designed to aggressively test and when we do, find it and act on it. We think that is the right thing to do.
Canadians have trusted us, and now we have to trust them. We will err on the side of caution and do what is needed to place consumers first. I know it’s complicated and no one likes risk or recalls (especially us), but we need people to understand that the real risk is no action.
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[...] Le rappel qui a eu lieu le 4 août est présenté avec les explications de l’entreprise, Another recall…can’t Maple Leaf get it right????, qui peut se traduire par Un autre rappel … Maple Leaf peut-il aller bien ??? Du beau [...]
“In the past year, we have taken many actions to live up to that promise:
1.New methods of sanitization that are the best practices in the world
2.Extensive employee training on food safety and Listeria control
3.Implementing new technologies that can either eliminate Listeria in the package, or reduce its growth during storage if it happens to be present.
4.Doing far more aggressive testing than regulations require to find Listeria and eradicate it.
Despite all that, we have another recall???”
And yes you do! Again the question — What measures have you taken to ensure that Manure fed beef from the US is not being allowed into your products?
And Secondly — Why are you SO TERRIFIED of discussing this issue?
cowboss
If I’m reading your comment correctly, you are interested in how we manage the purchasing of beef used in our operations. What I can tell you is the vast majority of beef we use is primarily sourced from Eastern Canada and Australia, with a small amount from the United States. In all cases, we only purchase product from government inspected beef establishments and we impose standards on these suppliers to ensure that the ingredients meet our the highest standards of food safety assurance, making them safe for consumers and their families to eat.
Thank you for setting a new pace in food safety quality control.
I trust Maple Leaf products and I also did in the past…but even more so now.
reply to “trust even more so now” comment. I wonder what possessed this woman to write this comment - seeing there are still recalls on Maple Leaf products. WAKE UP EVERYONE! Listeriousis KILLS!!!! You cannot bring back your loved ones from this should they be seriously affected by this contamination. Think about that folks next time you eat Maple Leaf products.
If the listeria testing takes a week to get back why doesn’t Maple Leaf wait to send their hot dogs out until the results are back??
That’s a fair observation and not unreasonable to expect. However, it is important to realize the limitations of sampling and testing. We have conducted detailed statistical analysis of the globally applied testing practices and have found that there is no testing system that can be implemented that can ensure 100% safety. Thus, retesting of a batch of product using global best practice techniques, can result in a positive, when previous results were negative. Testing is used as an indicator of process control, but not as a means to determine the absolute safety of a given lot of food. Thus, the enhanced food safety and testing protocols that we have in place today across our Maple Leaf plants are based on global best practices, where product is released to market while awaiting test results. What can help us dramatically is if we could get the Canadian government to fully approve rapid test technology which is widely used in the U.S. and Europe. Having these test results sooner will allow us to react sooner to our results.
Randy Huffman, Chief Food Safety Officer.
Dear Editor
Thanx for your words. The question remains, Manure contains lesteria, manure is fed to beef cattle in the US, CFIA condemns this practise yet allows US beef to freely enter Canada, Maple leaf foods uses US beef, and gets listeria in their products — DUH!
cowboss
I understand that you think that the U.S. should outlaw feeding of chicken litter to cows, as Canada does; that you think Canada should outlaw beef imports from the U.S. that might have been fed chicken litter; and that you think Maple Leaf should only purchase beef from U.S. suppliers who can prove they have abandoned this practice.
We haven’t really thought much about the third point, partly because we tend to rely on the regulatory judgment of the U.S. and Canadian governments, partly because we import so little beef from the U.S. (a little more than 10% of our total) – and partly because we haven’t heard from a lot of consumers (other than you) about this issue.
While the U.S. and Canadian regulatory systems have developed slightly different approaches to food safety, this does not and should not be interpreted as an unsafe food safety system. In fact, scientists, regulators and policymakers have determined that our food safety systems are equivalent.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is Canada’s federal food safety, animal health and plant protection enforcement agency that is ultimately responsible for the safety of our food supply. This includes overseeing that all imported food products comply with Canadian food safety regulations.
For obvious reasons, we are extremely diligent about detecting any source of Listeria that we can as part of our commitment to ensuring food safety. Our technical experts tell us that chicken litter fed cows have little to do with the Listeria problem - at least at Maple Leaf. The U.S. beef that we import represents a very small amount of our total purchase and is used in our processed meat products. It is thoroughly cooked to over 170°F for long periods of time completely destroying any vegetative bacteria that may be present. We have also consulted with global experts on Listeria control and not one has suggested the theory you present to be proven in ready-to-eat meat products.
While I don’t share you passion for the issue nor do I believe it represents a food safety risk, I do respect your position. I am in the process of putting together a Food Safety Advisory Council of external experts and once in place, I promise to refer the issue to them. If they decide that we should look into it further, we certainly will do that!
You have sent several comments to our website on this topic so far. We’re a little worried that most other readers of the site (not that we have all that many so far) might find this a pretty specialized topic for further discussion. I believe I have answered your question as best as we can at this time and invite you to write again to this blog, but perhaps on a different topic.
Randy Huffman, Chief Food Safety Officer
I saw on the news last week a brief detail of what products were recalled. I didn’t get the chance to write them down. I have 2 packages of BBQ Wieners and want to make sure these are / or are not the ones affected. Can you please give me the lot numbers affected by this recent recall?
Thank you.
This list of recalled products can be found here: http://www.mapleleaf.ca/pdf/Hamilton_Recall_QA.pdf
If Maple Leaf has things under control, then why are you still releasing products to consumers when they are infected with Listeria? If your systems are working, the product would not have been released to consumers. And if there is Listeria everywhere, then why are other companies not having the same issues Maple Leaf is?
Janet-
You have some fair questions here. Even with excellent food safety advances, experts say that on average in North America one out of 200 meat and poultry products will contain low levels of Listeria.
Our environmental testing regime told us there was Listeria on a line in a wiener plant. Upon receipt of positive results we immediately informed the federal government through the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. They felt upon assessment of our routine data that it was necessary to take additional tests. When this was done, out of over 230 products sampled, three were confirmed positive based upon the information we have to date. We recalled the product in this case to be ultra cautious.
In 2009 there have been dozens of food recalls in Canada and because of last year the Maple Leaf name tends to get more media attention, and rightly so.
Randy,
I really like how upfront Maple Leaf is being with all of the info, the response via this blog, and even the title of the post. Many people are taken in by the scare tactics employed by the media, and you’re right– the fact that it’s a second recall makes most think that you (ML) are up to the same old same old.
I work for a grocery store (though this post is my own opinion) and understand some of the concerns that people have with their food. I think the only thing you can do (short of changing the name on the front of your building) is keep on with your education and information regime.
Your comment and link to the CFIA recall list was eye opening for me. People don’t talk about a lot of the recalls that happen, but mention Listeria or Maple Leaf and it’s a story.
I’m interested to know what the approximate market share of Maple Leaf products is? Maybe the fact that you’re in the news and the target of great scrutiny is because of your market share? (Would people care about MSFT and their anti-trust violations if they controlled 1% of the OS market? Probably not!)
Andrew-
I think the biggest reason why a Maple Leaf recall makes such big news is because of last year. We will forever be responsible for 22 deaths in 2008 and we do not ask Canadians to forget that fact or even hide from it but give us the opportunity to do better. To answer your market share question we are the largest food processor in Canada with #1 market share in several of packaged meats categories.
Here is something you might not have seen in the News releases. One has to wonder if a discovery of this sort will eventually have promise of becoming a meat additive to eliminate some of the problems associated with food manufacturing on a large scale.
Natural listeriosis killer found in mango pits
BY ELISE STOLTE, EDMONTON JOURNAL
A University of Alberta food researcher has found a compound in mango pits that kills the listeriosis bacteria while also acting as a food preservative.Photograph by: Dee Hobsbawn-Smith, For Canwest News ServiceEDMONTON — A University of Alberta food researcher has found a compound in mango pits that kills the listeriosis bacteria while also acting as a food preservative.
PhD student ******ina Engels has been studying mangoes since March 2008 and recently published her findings in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Creating a preservative from the discarded and inedible pits would not only reuse a major byproduct from the mango juicing and canning plants, but should also create a healthier food alternative.
“No chemicals, but just a natural substance,” said Engels. “These substances are really concentrated in the pits but they are in the flesh of the mango as well, so for centuries people were eating those in mango flesh and they didn’t have any impact on their bodies. But if we use a chemical preservative, we might not be sure what impact it has.”
Engels spent five months trying to isolate the specific compound she wanted from the mango pit. It’s a certain group of tannins, the same group of chemicals used in tanning hides, and the substance that colours water run-off when it leaches through dead leaves.
Once she had a concentrated amount of the tannins suspended in water, she tested them on cultures of listeriosis bacteria, the organism responsible for spoilage in sandwich meats, and on lactic acid bacteria, the beneficial bacteria found in yogurt and some fruit juices.
An outbreak of listeriosis in 2008 at a Maple Leaf Foods deli-meat plant in Toronto was linked to the deaths of 22 Canadians.
Even at a small concentration, the tannins killed the listeriosis and left the lactic acid bacteria alone.
Engels’ next steps are for a food safety specialist to test the tannins and double check that they are safe for human consumption.
Engels also wants to start testing them in food, perhaps starting with fruit smoothies and by adding them to the water used to wash lettuce, “another product that is easily spoiled by bacteria,” she said.
Hopefully people won’t be able to notice the taste, she added: “They are said to be bitter, but in my test I found the concentration can be very small.”
Edmonton Journal
Randy
Is ML considering process In-House rapid testing (ie BAX) for all plants.
Wouldn’t the CFIA like this?
Thanks for your questions. We already use the fastest test methods currently approved by the CFIA , which is the more traditional DuPont BAX method. But this method still takes on average 4 - 7 days for results because of the method change requirements that have been imposed by CFIA and health Canada coupled with the requirement to overnight ship products to accredited laboratories when an accredited lab is not available at the manufacturing plant. Our hope is that CFIA will encourage the use of more rapid-test technology as a means of complying with the operator testing component of the listeria policy. While Maple Leaf operates two accredited laboratories, we believe that these tests could be effectively carried out in non-accredited labs, just as is done in other jurisdictions around the world, and can be verified on a routine basis against the CFIA’s accredited methods . We ideally want to see CFIA and Health Canada approve more rapid test method s which are available in other jurisdictions, including the U.S. and Europe, and will continue to advocate that th ese testing method s be recognized for use in routine testing in Canada.
Randy
Anyone who feeds Maple Leaf foods to their kids should be charged with child abuse. There are so many residual antibiotics, pesticides, hormones, chemical additives, flavour enhancers and preservatives in or added to the products, that it is simply has to be a cancer- causing. I have stopped eating these products and have never felt better about my health.
I have to agree. I do not see how the CFIA can dictate who can buy one of these machines (or prevent the use of other methods). It should be seen as an in-house processing test just like sanitation or % fat or environmentals or whatever. Any questionable results would be sent on to accredited facilities. Yes, yes there is a need for standardisation and validation and accreditation but why stand in the way of private initiative? What a country.