Our Journey to Food Safety Leadership | Our Journey to Food Safety Leadership

Over the past few weeks government agencies in the U.S. and Canada have been investigating possible Salmonella contamination of Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP), an ingredient used as a flavour enhancer  used in a wide array of commercially-prepared foods, such as chips, soups, dips, salad dressings, sauces, frozen dinners and snack foods.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) are conducting investigations and following the situation closely.  There have been no reports of any confirmed illnesses in Canada or the U.S. linked to the food products containing HVP and the risk is considered to be very low.

The complete list of recalled products is available on the CFIA’s food safety portal at www.foodsafety.gc.ca or the FDA’s website at www.foodsafety.gov. If you have any of the recalled products in your home, you should not eat them.  You should check the sites regularly since it is expected that more products may be recalled as a result of the ongoing investigations.

The products that are being recalled are ready-to-eat products that contain the affected HVP ingredient and have not been subject to a  heat treatment or other process that would effectively eliminate the Salmonella.

No Maple Leaf products have been recalled, however we are closely monitoring the situation.  We are taking all measures necessary to continue to ensure the safety of our products.   

It is important to note that both the CFIA and FDA have advised that certain products  that contain the affected HVP do not represent a food safety risk and are not subject to the recall.  This includes:

• ready-to-eat foods where HVP may be added as an ingredient and which have been made using processes that would effectively eliminate Salmonella, such asnormal cooking practices
• ready-to-cook products that consumers cook or reheat at home after they buy them areunlikely to pose a risk providing the product is prepared at temperatures stated in the validated cooking instructions provided on the packaging. Thesecooking instructions shouldprovideinstructions thatensures the product reaches temperaturesthat effectively eliminate Salmonella.

Following safe food handling practices and maintaining proper refrigeration temperatures are critical to minimizing the risk associated with the presence of Salmonella in raw meats.  Thoroughly cooking product to the recommended internal temperature, for example 165ºF/74ºC in poultry products, effectively eliminates Salmonella.

“Creating a high performing food safety organization” is one of the pillars of Maple Leaf’s Food Safety Strategy.  We are committed to building a world-class food safety and quality team to ensure we have  strong  technical and scientific expertise throughout Maple Leaf.

I am pleased to welcome Peter Slade to my team as Senior Director, Food Safety Technical Affairs.  Peter is an internationally recognized food safety leader with over 30 years of diverse and extensive experience globally in the food industry, including experience in the U.K., the U.S., Canada, Saudi Arabia and China.

Peter will play an integral role on the food safety leadership team and specifically will be responsible for working closely with each Maple Leaf business unit to identify opportunities to further mitigate potential food safety risks.  His work will include establishing clear lines of communication with the product development teams on new products as well as evaluating methods to reduce risk in current product lines.  Peter will keep abreast of new food safety technologies, best practices and the latest in food safety research. 

Peter began his career as Research Officer at Campden and Chorleywood Foods Research Association, U.K. and then in a Microbiologist position at Midwest Research Institute, U.S. where he provided food safety technical support to the government of Saudi Arabia.  He then joined Campbell Soup Company, U.S. as manager of Technical and Analytical Services. Peter then went on to McDonald’s Corporate Food Safety group where he led the Supplier/Distribution HACCP Programs across a number of different commodities as well as leading the McDonalds Food Safety Advisory Council.

Peter was recruited to the National Center for Food Safety and Technology (NCFST), an FDA and industry- funded research and education center. During nearly 10 years with the Center, he directed food safety research programs as well as taught a number of graduate classes in food science, microbiology and food safety. Peter also successfully led the FDA-sponsored Allergen Task Force, and chaired the committee that developed the standardized Juice HACCP Training Curriculum.

Peter holds a Ph.D. in Food Science (Microbiology) from the University of Guelph.  

We’re very pleased that Peter is bringing his wealth of expertise and knowledge to join our team and participate on the blog.  Welcome to Maple Leaf Foods Peter!

Celebrating the holidays with family and loved ones is one of the best times of year to enjoy great company and even better food!  Entertaining creates different challenges in the kitchen than normal meal preparation. The quantity of food and how it is served requires special attention to ensure food safety.

Some safety tips are even more important when entertaining because of the quantity of food prepared.  One of the golden rules is to keep ‘hot foods hot’ and ‘cold foods cold’:

• Do not let foods linger during preparation - cook them thoroughly and serve them quickly.  Consider cooking foods in smaller batches, and replenish serving dishes when quantities getting low.  
• Keep hot foods hot with warming trays or crock pots. 
• Antipasto plates with vegetables, dips, cheeses, and deli meats are a favourite. Keep the platter fresh by replacing containers of dips and other foods, not replenishing them.  Also keep the platter on ice to keep cold.
• Do not leave food out for more than two hours.
• Use leftovers within four days for best quality or freeze immediately for later use. Reheat solid leftovers to at least 74°C or 165°F until “steaming” hot.
• When frozen food such as meat is thawed, cook immediately after thawing. Allow sufficient time for food to defrost properly.  If not completely thawed, the food will take longer to cook.

Meat should be cooked to a minimum of 74°C or 165°F. You cannot determine whether meat is done by simply looking at the colour of the meat or juices, so use a food thermometer (see our cooking temperature guide).

 For more food safety tips or to test your knowledge in Maple Leaf’s food safety quiz.

 From our family to yours, wishing you a safe and wonderful holiday season.