3rd person dies in Listeria outbreak in plant-based milks
Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed contamination originated at Pickering, Ont., factory
A third person from Ontario has died in a Listeria outbreak connected to Great Value and Silk plant-based milks, the province's Ministry of Health said Monday.
The person was from Toronto, the city's public health agency told CBC News on Tuesday morning. They were the second person from Toronto whose death was connected to the outbreak.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said this week there were 20 confirmed cases of people sickened by listeriosis — the illness caused by the Listeria bacteria — in four provinces.
The affected products include Silk brand oat milk, almond milk, coconut milk, almond-coconut milk and almond-cashew milk, as well as Great Value brand almond milk with best before dates up to and including Oct. 4 and containing the number 7825 in the product code.
The Listeria contamination originated on a dedicated production line at Joriki, a third-party beverage packaging facility in Pickering, Ont., used by plant-milk manufacturer Danone Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said last week.
Joriki provided a statement to CBC Tuesday, saying "there's no indication any other products are affected, as the recalled products were limited to one dedicated line at our Pickering plant."
Production of recalled products will remain suspended until Danone and the CFIA are "satisfied it is appropriate" to resume, the company said.
No Silk products have been produced at or shipped from the Pickering facility since July 6, Danone Canada spokesperson Jennifer Vincent said in an email to CBC Tuesday. Since the recall, the company has increased testing in all Silk refrigerated products out of an abundance of caution, she said.
People became sick between August 2023 and mid-July 2024, the Public Health Agency of Canada said. Thirteen of the cases were in Ontario, five were in Quebec, one was in Nova Scotia and one was in Alberta.
The people sickened range in age from seven to 89 and 70 per cent of the cases were 50 years of age and older. Fifteen people have been reported hospitalized in the outbreak, the agency said.
The agency said people should check to see if they have any of the affected products and either throw them out or return them to where they were purchased. People shouldn't consume, serve, use, sell or distribute the recalled products, the agency said.
For most, Listeria symptoms not severe: doctor
Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist at Toronto General Hospital, told CBC that for most people, a Listeria infection will cause diarrhea-like symptoms or gastroenteritis that will likely resolve itself without medical attention. But for very young, old, immuno-compromised and pregnant people, it can pose a serious health risk.
"The bacteria can get into the intestines, it gets absorbed, it gets into the bloodstream and then it has a predilection for going to the brain and causing a pretty severe meningitis," he said. "We see it occasionally in the hospital. We can treat it, we can diagnose it, but the key thing here is to prevent it."
Public Health Canada encourages people to contact their health care provider if they experience symptoms of a Listeria infection, and not to cook food for others should they be diagnosed.
Bogoch says plant-based milks aren't more susceptible to Listeria than other foods, so consumers should only worry about avoiding recalled products.
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With files from CBC News and Chris Glover