Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 28, 2008, Winnipeg, Manitoba m y k Page a5 Winnipeg repress. Com Lister Osis outbreak Winnipeg free press thursday August 28, 2008 a 5 no Compromise footwear 128 Adelaide St. 944 7463 1504 St. Maryus re. 944 7474             944 7466 wow. Canadia footwear. Com                                                                                                                                                            "                     #     #       "                 $    #       $  % %  &           $                                          #                     &      #         #                             #                           1 1604 St. Maryus re. 953 0260 1069 notre Dame 775 8451 berber carpet $ 1 79 installed a pad Reg. $ 2.89 so. Now it. New location recreational vehicles real cheap Canada one re is in a final phase of moving to Regent Avenue the move is significant & we still have approx. 100 new & used campers trailers 5ths, and motor Homes at 925 Lagimodiere. We Are not moving these rvs to Regent ave states Martin Black. Here Are the directions from the owner display All available re units at 925 Lagimodiere and let customers make us an offer. Cost below Cost or wholesale All reasonable offers will be considered starting tuesday August 26/ 08 and ending 4 pm saturday August 30/ 08, we must liquidate All remaining rvs at Canada one 925 Lagimodiere. Come on Down & make us an offer this liquidation is exclusive to Canada one 925 Lagimodiere. Pm 233 4000 advertisement there have been 20 cases of Lister Osis reported in Manitoba since 2003. The most recent cases occurred in january and february when two women in Winnipeg one in her 60s and the other her 70s contracted the disease according to the Manitoba health communicable disease monthly summary database. The two cases Are not believed to be related to each other or to the recent National outbreak. The severity of the illness in those two cases is unknown. A food safety expert said people in High risk groups including pregnant women the elderly and people with compromised immune systems should avoid Deli meats hotdogs salads undercooked raw meat and poultry and raw milk and cheese. Linda Corso spokeswoman for the food safety network at University of Guelph said listeria occurs naturally in water soil and vegetation and is difficult to kill. She said the bacteria can grow without oxygen and inside refrigerators and noted it is important to consume Deli meats within a couple of Days and heat leftovers. Its something thatus out there its widespread and thatus probably what makes it so difficult to control it. Winnipeg hospitals and Persona care Homes serve Deli meats to patients despite their vulnerability to the bacteria. Winnipeg regional health authority spokeswoman Heidi Graham said health inspectors a vent flagged Deli meats As a concern and there has never been a Manitoba patient who has fallen ill with Lister Osis from eating contaminated meat served in Hospital. Graham said a recent investigation into a patient who contracted Lister Osis while in Hospital revealed the patients family brought in the contaminated food As a treat. We Are inspected annually and not once has this been raised As a concern she said. Manitoba health recently notified All hospitals and care facilities to remove any processed meat included on the recall list issued by Maple Leaf foods earlier this week. A health department spokeswoman said its often difficult to track the cause of a Lister Osis outbreak because symptoms can take up to 90 Days to Manifest and victims cant always recall what they ate during that time. For the two cases reported in Manitoba this year the spokeswoman said no specific source could be found for the infection. Aldo. Santin free press. My. Jen. Skerritt free press. My. t Oronto Canadas food inspection system under scrutiny amid a massive meat recall and a Lister Osis outbreak thatus killed at least five people was absolved of blame wednesday by the president of embattled meat giant Maple Leaf foods and defended by the minister of agriculture. Michael Mccain the Maple Leaf chief executive whose abject apology has been playing in television commercials across Canada for nearly a week said both the recall and the responsibility for fixing it Are for his company to Bear alone. I reiterate the Buck stops right Here Mccain told a news conference at company Headquarters in Toronto. Just two hours later agriculture and Agri foods minister Gerry Ritz dismissed a Media report suggesting Federal inspectors at a Toronto processing Plant where the listeria tainted meat originated were mired in paperwork and not on the production floor. We Are saying thatus not True Ritz said of the report. About 50 per cent of an inspectors time is spent on the floor of the Plant the other 50 per cent is overseeing paperwork most of it scientific in nature test results and the like. With the drumbeats of a looming election Campaign growing Ever louder Ritz insisted the conservatives have done nothing to impair the governments ability to ensure canadians have Safe food to eat. Were concerned with the safety of the food Supply and Canadian Consumers he said. There is no valid argument whatsoever that theress been cuts to the Canadian food inspection Agency. Ritz reiterated Federal plans to invest $ 113 million in the food inspection system and the hiring of 200 inspectors with More on the Way. Late wednesday the Cofia and Costco wholesale Canada Ltd. Issued yet another recall warning this one about Kirkland signature Brand meat and cheese platters that May contain meat products already recalled by Maple Leaf. The latest recall applies to Kirkland signature Brand croissant platters up 0 00000 29048 7 and meat & cheese platters up 0 0000 10683 2 carrying Best before dates up to and including aug. 28 and aug. 29, respectively and sold through Costco wholesale outlets across Canada. There have been no reported illnesses associated with the platters the Cofia said in a release. The ranks of canadians who Are joining class action lawsuits against the 100 year old meat Packer continued to swell wednesday even As the number of deaths being blamed conclusively on the outbreak dwindled slightly Down to five from six the Day before. Tony merchant a lawyer heading a class action for merchant Law group based in Regina said More than 1,450 individuals had joined the suit As of wednesday afternoon. Ten deaths All of them linked to the outbreak remain under investigation to determine if they were caused by a bacterial infection. Some 29 confirmed cases exist across Canada 22 in Ontario four in b. C., one in Saskatchewan and two in Quebec while an additional 30 cases remain classified As suspect. Mccain said the company is recall extended beyond those products that had tested positive for the listeria bacterium and that the company contacted All of its direct customers and warehouses and some 87 per cent of warehouses in the Canadian food Chain. This week its our Best efforts that failed not the regulators or the Canadian food safety system Mccain said. I emphasize this is our accountability and its ours to fix which we Are taking on fully. We have and we continue to improve on our action plans. It remained unclear wednesday when the Toronto Plant at the heart of the outbreak which was scheduled to resume production today would reopen Mccain said. We will not restart the Plant until this investigation is Complete and Ive signed off on it personally he said. The Canadian press Brandon officials and food workers Are worried about potential backlash from the outbreak of Lister Osis linked to tainted meat. Theress no connection Between Brand ones Maple Leaf foods Plant and the outbreak of Lister Osis from Toronto is Maple Leaf foods Plant but Brandon mayor Dave Burgess said the Cit yes economic development office is waiting for the Opportunity to speak to company president Michael Mccain. Robert Ziegler Union local president of United food and commercial workers Canada which represents meat Plant workers in Brandon said concerns Over layoffs Are already on Peoples minds. As of late wednesday the Brandon Plant Hadnot implemented any new control or sanitation measures. Ziegler said workers already adhere to a strict code to avoid contaminating meat. Maple Leaf did not return Calls requesting an interview. Whether it ends up affecting Brandon or not thatus almost a secondary concern Burgess said. Were More concerned with the safety of the Public. The outbreak has raised questions about the Quality of infection controls in meat processing facilities and whether government inspectors Are properly policing them. Federal health officials confirmed 29 canadians have been infected with Lister Osis including five who have died. A 2002 health Canada report evaluating the Canadian food inspection Agency yes handling of ready to eat meat products flagged listeria As a concern and told food safety officials they need More vigilant and effective controls. In response Cofia adopted the u. S. Model and shifted responsibility for testing to the food Industry. It never should have happened but eventually it was going to happen somewhere Ziegler said. No matter How hard we try something something slips through the cracks. Ziegler said Federal inspectors Are based at the Brandon facility yes Slaughter area but no longer test the adjacent production line the role of swabbing testing and monitoring operations everyday has been transferred to Maple Leaf staff. Brand ones Plant does not process meat into sausages or cold cuts like Toronto is Plant Ziegler said. That Means theress a lower risk of contamination because bacteria is More difficult to kill when it is in hamburger meat or cold cuts. Ziegler said the Brandon Plant separates the kill area and the clean area and workers who work on each Side cant interact. They have stringent policies on shutting Down the production line if a growth or something irregular is found on an animal. Anything that touches the floor is thrown away and the Plant is sanitized with government approved chemicals and foam every Day. The fallout from the recall has spawned a boost to local meat processors. Zenon Lopick co owner of tenderloin meat & sausage said he has fielded Many Calls from customers asking How his company sanitizes while making sausage and other processed meats. He said an obvious Benefit to a Small operation is that its easier to keep a close Eye on employees. Lopick said its More difficult to have strict sanitation controls with hundreds of employees than it is with Only a dozen. Jen. Skerritt free press. My. Brand ones Plant clean but City fears taint of scandal the Buck stops right Here Maple Leaf ceo absolves inspectors by Gregory Bonnell Manitoba has its own Lister Osis history Aaron Harris / the Canadian press Maple Leaf foods ceo Michael Mccain addresses the Media saying the food inspection system is not to blame for the Lister Osis that has killed at least five people. Lister Osis facts. Listeria Monocyte genes is a bacterium that can contaminate meats fish and vegetables. It can Lead to the development of Lister Osis with symptoms that can include nausea vomiting cramps diarrhoea High fever severe headache neck stiffness constipation persistent fever and death. Symptoms usually appear within two to 30 Days but it can take up to 90 Days to get sick after eating contaminated food. The elderly pregnant women children and those with weak immune systems Are most at risk. Cooking food to above 70 c 158 f and holding it at that temperature for at least a minute kills listeria. Leftovers should be thoroughly reheated. Can West news service by Jen Skerritt Phil Hossack / Winnipeg free press tenderloins Zenon Lopick close Eye on staff by Aldo Santin and Jen Skerritt a 05_ aug 28 08. Ind a5 8/ 27/ 08 9 43 19 pm ;