Comments on: Another recall…can’t Maple Leaf get it right???? http://blog.mapleleaf.com/2009/08/maple-leaf-initiates-precautionary-recall-of-nine-wiener-products-227 Our Journey to Food Safety Leadership Sun, 14 Mar 2010 08:54:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: Editor http://blog.mapleleaf.com/2009/08/maple-leaf-initiates-precautionary-recall-of-nine-wiener-products-227/comment-page-1#comment-3729 Editor Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:09:09 +0000 http://blog.mapleleaf.com/?p=227#comment-3729 Hi Jamie- You will find some helpful information on the recall of 2008 on this blog as well as on our website. For background information on the recall: http://www.mapleleaf.com/en/market/food-safety/maple-leaf-action-plan/product-recall-information/ Our You Tube channel has all of the videos we produced in relation to the recall: http://www.youtube.com/user/MapleLeafFoods For information on the financial impact of the 2008 recall please see our 2008 annual report http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9MzMwNjAwfENoaWxkSUQ9MzEyNDI1fFR5cGU9MQ==&t=1 Hi Jamie-

You will find some helpful information on the recall of 2008 on this blog as well as on our website. For background information on the recall:
http://www.mapleleaf.com/en/market/food-safety/maple-leaf-action-plan/product-recall-information/

Our You Tube channel has all of the videos we produced in relation to the recall: http://www.youtube.com/user/MapleLeafFoods

For information on the financial impact of the 2008 recall please see our 2008 annual report http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9MzMwNjAwfENoaWxkSUQ9MzEyNDI1fFR5cGU9MQ==&t=1

]]> By: Jamie http://blog.mapleleaf.com/2009/08/maple-leaf-initiates-precautionary-recall-of-nine-wiener-products-227/comment-page-1#comment-3712 Jamie Sun, 21 Feb 2010 07:26:51 +0000 http://blog.mapleleaf.com/?p=227#comment-3712 I am a business student and was given the assignment to write a report on a company who has undergone a crisis in the past 2 years, and to decide (hypathetically)if the company has handled the crisis well. I have chosen to write about your company, simply becuase I do feel you handled it very well. ML was very open and even recalled products voluntarily (or so ive read). I would like to produce a very persuasive paper as to why I believe your company has succeeded in "bouncing back". I was very impressed to find a blog where people are able to ask questions (and actually get a response) I was hoping to get from you more information on what your company has done to ensure food safety to the best of your abilities, what, if any, impact this has had on sales, etc. Any information you can provide would be deeply appreciated. Thank you in advance. I am a business student and was given the assignment to write a report on a company who has undergone a crisis in the past 2 years, and to decide (hypathetically)if the company has handled the crisis well. I have chosen to write about your company, simply becuase I do feel you handled it very well. ML was very open and even recalled products voluntarily (or so ive read). I would like to produce a very persuasive paper as to why I believe your company has succeeded in “bouncing back”. I was very impressed to find a blog where people are able to ask questions (and actually get a response) I was hoping to get from you more information on what your company has done to ensure food safety to the best of your abilities, what, if any, impact this has had on sales, etc. Any information you can provide would be deeply appreciated. Thank you in advance.

]]> By: Will again http://blog.mapleleaf.com/2009/08/maple-leaf-initiates-precautionary-recall-of-nine-wiener-products-227/comment-page-1#comment-586 Will again Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:57:59 +0000 http://blog.mapleleaf.com/?p=227#comment-586 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. 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.

]]> By: Editor http://blog.mapleleaf.com/2009/08/maple-leaf-initiates-precautionary-recall-of-nine-wiener-products-227/comment-page-1#comment-585 Editor Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:16:11 +0000 http://blog.mapleleaf.com/?p=227#comment-585 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 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

]]> By: Chris Hooymans http://blog.mapleleaf.com/2009/08/maple-leaf-initiates-precautionary-recall-of-nine-wiener-products-227/comment-page-1#comment-574 Chris Hooymans Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:53:10 +0000 http://blog.mapleleaf.com/?p=227#comment-574 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. 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.

]]> By: Will http://blog.mapleleaf.com/2009/08/maple-leaf-initiates-precautionary-recall-of-nine-wiener-products-227/comment-page-1#comment-538 Will Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:53:08 +0000 http://blog.mapleleaf.com/?p=227#comment-538 Randy Is ML considering process In-House rapid testing (ie BAX) for all plants. Wouldn't the CFIA like this? Randy
Is ML considering process In-House rapid testing (ie BAX) for all plants.
Wouldn’t the CFIA like this?

]]> By: Cathy http://blog.mapleleaf.com/2009/08/maple-leaf-initiates-precautionary-recall-of-nine-wiener-products-227/comment-page-1#comment-527 Cathy Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:14:20 +0000 http://blog.mapleleaf.com/?p=227#comment-527 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. 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.

]]> By: Rob Anthony http://blog.mapleleaf.com/2009/08/maple-leaf-initiates-precautionary-recall-of-nine-wiener-products-227/comment-page-1#comment-516 Rob Anthony Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:46:17 +0000 http://blog.mapleleaf.com/?p=227#comment-516 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 Christina 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 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

]]> By: Editor http://blog.mapleleaf.com/2009/08/maple-leaf-initiates-precautionary-recall-of-nine-wiener-products-227/comment-page-1#comment-483 Editor Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:29:42 +0000 http://blog.mapleleaf.com/?p=227#comment-483 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. 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.

]]> By: Andrew http://blog.mapleleaf.com/2009/08/maple-leaf-initiates-precautionary-recall-of-nine-wiener-products-227/comment-page-1#comment-481 Andrew Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:02:30 +0000 http://blog.mapleleaf.com/?p=227#comment-481 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!) 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!)

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