OK, we get it, listeria is everywhere; what are you going to do about it, Maple Leaf?
Early on in the Aug. 2008 outbreak of listeria that killed 22 Canadians, the manufacturer, Maple Leaf Foods, adopted the line that, listeria is everywhere.
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CEO Micheal McCain said,
“All food plants and supermarkets have some amount of listeria.”
Yesterday, when Maple Leaf announced yet another recall of product – this time involving nine wiener products produced under the Hygrade, Shopsy's and Maple Leaf brands produced at its plant in Hamilton, Ontario – the listeria is everywhere line was … everywhere.
Randy Huffman of Maple Leaf said in the company blog yesterday,
“Listeria is a common bacteria – it can be in virtually 100% of refrigerated food plants. It also exists at low levels in one out of every 200 ready-to-eat food products and even higher levels in many other foods we eat …
“This creates a real dilemma for us. I have to be frank with you. Nothing we can do – nothing anyone can do – will completely eliminate Listeria from the food supply. Listeria is found in about 0.5% of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products based upon best estimates from the USDA. This percentage means that one out of every 200 packages is likely to be positive. I know consumers might prefer that this number was zero, and food safety professionals certainly strive for this goal.”
I thought you were Randy, but if you’d rather be frank, sure. And this is a Canadian recall, you may want to explain what USDA is.
Both Huffman and Mansel Griffiths, professor in the food science department at the University of Guelph, invoked the consumer-wants-zero-risk although I’ve seen no evidence to back up this straw-person argument. Griffiths said,
“There's no such thing as 100-per-cent safe foods, no matter what food we eat.”
No one asked for risk-free food; but consumers do expect that those in charge of whatever portion of the farm-to-fork food safety system take responsibility for their own actions. Me, I told the Toronto Star the risk is that the listeria contamination could have happened after processing, and people, especially kids, eat wieners out of the fridge without reheating.
Back to the issue: if listeria is everywhere, what should processors and retailers do about it?
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• Warning labels. Pregnant women and other at-risk populations should be informed of listeria risks, using a variety of messages and a variety of media. The supermarket Publix places all of its deli-cut meats into a plastic bag that says:
“The Publix Deli is committed to the highest quality fresh cold cuts & cheeses

Therefore we recommend all cold cuts are best if used within three days of purchase

And all cheese items are best if used within four days of purchase”
• Make listeria testing data public.
• Market food safety efforts at retail.
Because listeria is everywhere.
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/admin/trackback/149592
8.5.09
THE FOLKS AT MAPLE LEAF REALLY ARE WRONG IN MY BOOK.
CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG BUT Lm under USDA/FDA is 0 tolerance.
To me the only way that can be done is via some sort of food irradiation.
I recall tests done years ago at the Sunbeam plant and the new plant that produces Excel Ground beef in chubs for Wegmans, uses "cold pasteurization" and to the best of my knowledge no Lm issues.
I was one of those kids and adults who for a quick snack ate a cold hot dog or cold luncheon meats.
Not anymore a thorough cook in the fry pan, microwave or boiling water.
Ah bring back the grilled bologna sandwiches with spicy mustard.
For a few years in the Midwest we did Listeria testing in supermarkets, deli, raw meat and seafood areas and then where we did find L all over the place (all due to cross contamination).
We of course found it heavy in raw and wet produce but what scared us the most was finding it on RTE BREADS from the bakery as well as RTE Packaged foods (on outside bags of cut lettuce etc).
One source was the same dirty mop, bucket and squeegee went from the produce cooler/room to each area of the store.
Took us months to get them trained and cleaned up.
Folks Lm can be controlled but I feel only Food Irradiation at the manufacturing site will reduce/eliminate Lm.
But once the package is open at home or in the supermarket, then all Lm bets are off.
If I was a food manufacture, I would find and use every means available, including food irradiation to do all I could to prevent anyone getting ill or dying.
If I am wrong, please do not flame me, but give me hard facts to support your position.
If I am wrong I will gladly admit it and take my lumps.
Thanks for your time
TCAmbrosia
www.haccp.us
tambrosia@gmail.com
"Listeria is everywhere."
Listeria monocytogenes?
"Listeria is found in about 0.5% of read-to-eat meat and poultry products. This percentage means that one out of every 200 packages is likely to be positive."
From the same packaging line between two consecutive sanitation cleanings? What happened to tracking test results?
"You would have to eat them raw to pose any food safety concern."
When did ML stop fully cooking hotdogs?
How did the contaminated wieners get into the stores? The last time (Hamilton plant, February 25, 2009) ML said that their testing was working but that the product had been shipping in error. What PR spin will we have to listen to the next time?
No warning on the package for high risk consumers with what we have known since 1998 (Sara Lee) is clearly recklessness and lack of due diligence.