At Maple Leaf, our commitment is to do everything we can to make our products safe for consumers. Just as we take precautions to ensure our products are safe, we encourage you to do the same when preparing, cooking, and storing food.  In keeping with our mandate of becoming a leader in food safety education, we have launched a new website to help consumers understand the important role of food safety at Maple Leaf and in your homes.

Aside from information on what we do to manage food safety, you can surf the new site for information on food safety in the home, including a virtual tool demonstrating food safety in the kitchen, proper cooking temperatures, tips and a food safety quiz. 

We hope you will visit and welcome your feedback on the new site.

Making the most of the outdoors is a favourite pastime during the summer season and a picnic lunch is a great way to enjoy the nice weather.  The arrival of summer also brings warmer temperatures and higher humidity so it’s especially important to be mindful of good food safety habits so summer activities can be enjoyed to the fullest and avoid any risk of foodborne illness. 

The CFIA published a fact sheet on food safety for camping, hiking and enjoying outdoor picnics.  Hopefully you will have the opportunity to be outside this summer and transporting your food safely can be a challenge.  Here are some tips when using your cooler.

Cooler safety tips

• Take perishable food in a cooler that keeps food cold at or below 4°C (40°F). Food safety experts recommend using freezer ice packs because they drip less.  Loose ice or cubes can melt, then drip and possibly transfer contaminants from one food to another. If you use loose ice, store everything in sealed containers to prevent cross-contamination!
• Refrigerate or freeze food, if possible, the day before you pack it.  This way it’s already cold when you put it in the cooler.
• Place your cooler in the coolest part of your vehicle when you’re travelling.  On hot days, use the car’s air conditioning, if you can, to keep food cool.
• Keep the cooler out of the sun and keep the lid closed as often as you can.  You may want to use two coolers – one for drinks (since it may be opened more often) and another for food.
• Separate raw food from cooked food. Place raw meat and poultry in sealed containers and pack them at the bottom of the cooler to keep their juices from dripping onto other food.  Or better yet, pack raw meat in a separate cooler.

To read more about preventing foodborne illness check out the CFIA Fact Sheet.

While the use of reusable cloth bags is quickly becoming the ‘norm’ when grocery shopping and is an excellent way to reduce our impact on the environment, there are health and safety concerns to consider.

The Canadian Plastics Industry Association recently performed a random analysis of reusable cloth shopping bags and found that over 30% of the bags contained unsafe levels of harmful bacteria and 40% of the bags had yeast or mould.  Surprising results from an eco-friendly carrying bag that only a few years ago many people would not have considered using.

The good news is that it’s easily preventable.  Simply make a habit of regularly washing your reusable cloth bags, especially those used to transport meat and other perishable food items.  Make sure meat is wrapped tightly with no rips or holes in the packaging to prevent leakage and keep microorganisms at bay.  Another good practice is to make grocery shopping the last errand before you head home so you can store perishable food items in the refrigerator or freezer within two hours of purchase to limit exposure to higher temperatures where harmful bacteria can multiply rapidly.