8 people now dead because of listeriosis: health official

The number of deaths confirmed to have been caused by listeria, or where listeria was a contributing factor, is now eight, three more than reported Wednesday.

Mark Raizenne of the Public Health Agency of Canada said all three listeriosis cases were in Ontario, and had previously been on a list of deaths under investigation.

The news came on the day of the funeral for an elderly woman in Madoc, Ont., who died of listeriosis. Madoc is 40 kilometres north of Belleville, about halfway between Toronto and Ottawa on Highway 7.

Family members have said Frances Clark, 81, suffered a separated shoulder in a fall last month and spent time in a hospital and nursing home before falling ill last week. She died Monday.

Health officials haven't yet determined whether Clark's death is part of the nationwide outbreak.

As of Thursday, there were 29 confirmed cases of listeriosis caused by Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. Of the 29 victims, 15 have died — 12 in Ontario, one in British Columbia, one in Saskatchewan and one in Quebec. In seven of those cases, listeriosis has not been confirmed as the actual cause of death.

There are now 36 suspected cases of listeriosis — 19 in Ontario, one in British Columbia, five in Alberta, one in Manitoba and 10 in Quebec.

Questions about number of on-site inspections

In a news conference in Ottawa Thursday afternoon, Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz said his department is working "around the clock" to be sure all recalled products are removed from institutions.

"We have checked 15,000 institutions, distributors and retailers, and can say affected products are being removed thanks to the heightened public awareness," Ritz said.

However, he stayed away from a comment he made earlier in the week that federal inspectors spend half their time doing on-site physical inspections at meat-processing plants.

Government officials are now saying the 50-50 split between paperwork and floor inspections is the way the system is designed to work, but not necessarily the way it actually works.

An official from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Thursday that, on Any given day, inspectors will allocate their time as they see fit.

Another agency official said inspectors know best how to do their job, and they act accordingly.

But Bob Kingston, head of the agriculture union at the agency, said inspectors are being deluged with paper audits and simply don't have enough hours in the day to do floor inspections.

Another possible listeriosis death in Windsor

In another development, CBC News learned of another suspected listeriosis death on Thursday. Sources told CBC that Elizabeth Schmidt, 81, of Leamington, Ont., died while being treated for listeriosis at the Windsor Regional Hospital.

The local health unit confirmed that a patient was in hospital with listeriosis, but would not release the patient's identity.

It's unclear whether listeriosis was the cause of death or whether the listeria strain that made Schmidt ill was the one connected to the nationwide listeria outbreak relating to Maple Leaf meats.

Since tests linked the listeriosis outbreak to a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto, the recall of meat products potentially tainted with Listeria monocytogenes has grown almost daily.

6 sandwiches, 2 platters added to recall

Late Wednesday, six sandwiches and two sandwich platters were added to the long list of recalled products, including cooked ham and salami sandwiches sold in Sobeys, Foodland and IGA stores in Ontario and two Kirkland Signature sandwich platters sold at Costco.

Not connected to Maple Leaf Foods, two brands of Quebec-made cheeses — Riopelle de l'Île and Mont-Jacob — have also been pulled from store shelves after officials found contamination from a strain of listeria different from that found in meat products linked to the deadly nationwide listeriosis outbreak. At least nine cases of listeriosis have been associated with the cheeses.

Maple Leaf Foods said Wednesday that it accepts the blame in the listeriosis outbreak, and that Canada's food inspection system is not at fault.

Company president Michael McCain said the Toronto plant at the heart of the recall won't be reopened until an investigation is complete and he has personally signed off on it.

Symptoms of listeriosis — which include high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea — can occur up to 70 days after consuming contaminated food, though the average incubation period is 30 days, the federal food agency said.

People most at risk include newborns, the elderly, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, public health officials said. People should wash produce and avoid unpasteurized milk and dairy products, the CFIA advised.

Public health and Maple Leaf Foods officials have said the source of the contamination may never be determined, since listeria is widespread and commonly found in the environment, including in soil and in water.