We recalled some product this week due to trace amounts of Listeria. It was a completely precautionary action, directly as a result of the massive amount of testing we are doing. Our systems worked!

But Mother Nature has a bacteria called Listeria that is literally “everywhere”. Please consider these facts:

First, that for all practical purpose, 100% of all food establishments have Listeria. Second, 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. It’s even higher for other ready-to-eat foods. Third, because it is everywhere, the more you test, and the more aggressively you test, the more Listeria you will find, which is a good thing, not a bad thing – when we find it we can take action; proactive and precautionary action. Rest assured it is much easier to do the minimum, to not test aggressively and not find it. But, that doesn’t make the food safer.

Does the fact that Listeria is everywhere mean our food supply is not safe? Absolutely not. This has existed at very, very low levels for thousands of years and the vast majority of children and adults are immune. Vulnerable people, when exposed to high concentrations, get very sick which is what occurred in August of 2008 when 22 people died. But, when we take precautionary steps now, it isn’t the same at all. It is to avoid this very thing ever happening again. Painful; but truthful.

I will confess that when I read some of the blog entries on certain web sites, my heart sinks. I read messages like “shut them down…” and “can’t they get this right; I will never buy another Maple Leaf product again”. There are thousands of people in these plants who care very deeply about this and who are working tirelessly to do the right thing. They have taken the challenge of being a food safety leader to heart.  We are getting it right!

But, as any parent would understand, if you demand perfection when perfection is just not possible, often the pendulum swings the other way. Quite frankly, if our team behaves in the most precautionary way and the outcome is as some bloggers suggest – “shut them down; don’t buy their product” – then the punitive message to all those who are not acting in such an open, transparent, precautionary way is equally clear.

I am asking you to support the thousands of people who are doing an amazing and passionate job, acting with the utmost of care, even if they can’t beat Mother Nature completely, and support proactive, precautionary actions by responsible companies.