Maple Leaf recalls wieners

Maple Leaf initiates precautionary recall of nine wiener products.

Maple Leaf Foods today announced it is proceeding with a recall of nine wiener products produced under the Hygrade, Shopsy’s and Maple Leaf brands at its plant in Hamilton, Ontario, due to the possibility that they may contain traces of Listeria monocytogenes.

This is a precautionary measure only. The Company is 100% in compliance with the Government of Canada’s new Listeria policy. The Public Health Agency of Canada has confirmed that there have been no reported illnesses related to these products. Cooking hotdogs to steaming hot also kills any potential foodborne bacteria, such as Listeria.

“After last August’s tragedy, Maple Leaf is being ultra cautious about Listeria,” said Dr. Randall Huffman, Chief Food Safety Officer for Maple Leaf Foods. “The Hamilton plant has a very strong food safety testing and sanitation program, and the Listeria monocytogenes found in random product samples is at very low levels. Listeria exists in all food plants and many consumer fridges. It is commonly found in the environment and one in 200 packages of all meat and poultry products in the marketplace will likely contain Listeria monocytogenes, even higher in other ready to eat foods. We take whatever steps we can to be cautious when we know specific lots that may be exposed, as a precautionary step. Listeria can never be eliminated but it can be effectively controlled. Maple Leaf is doing more aggressive and frequent Listeria testing at our plants than regulations require, and that means we’re finding it more and acting whenever there is a potential and even remote food safety risk.”

Maple Leaf has built a safety net of hold and test quarantine procedures; however, the effectiveness of product quarantine depends on rapid testing methods which the government have not yet approved. The product in question was produced during a period when test results were not yet available due to the excessively long lead time of currently government approved testing methods. We urge the Canadian government to approve commercially proven in-plant rapid testing methods which are now widely in use in the United States and Europe and Maple Leaf will immediately implement this technology at all our prepared meat plants to improve the effectiveness of our quarantine procedures.

Products affected by this recall include:

• Hygrade Wieners 450g
  UPC: 58640 00001
  BB Date: 09 SE16

• Shopsy’s Deli Fresh All Beef Frankfurters 675g
  UPC: 63100 14461
  BB Date: 09 SE17

• Shopsy’s All Beef Wieners 450g
  UPC: 64875 20730
  BB Date: 09 SE08 and 09 SE17

• Shopsy’s Deli Fresh Frankfurters 450g
  UPC: 64875 20745
  BB Date: 09 SE08

• Maple Leaf Original Wieners 450g
  UPC: 63100 22356
  BB Date: 09 SE08 and 09 SE17

• Maple Leaf Top Dogs All Beef Wieners 450g
  UPC: 63100 22395
  BB Date: 09 SE08 and 09 SE15

• Maple Leaf Top Dogs Original Wieners 450g
  UPC: 63100 22410
  BB Date: 09 SE09, 09 SE10 and 09 SE15

• Maple Leaf Top Dogs Original Wieners BBQ Size 450g
  UPC: 63100 22412
  BB Date: 09 SE09

• Maple Leaf Top Dogs 33% Less Fat Wieners 450g
  UPC: 63100 82334
  BB Date: 09 SE08 and 09 SE15

The “best before” date, the establishment number for the Hamilton plant “EST. 611″ and Line 1 “L1″ can be found on the inkjet stamp located on the sealed edge of the packaging and the UPC code is located on the back of the package. Note that products featuring an establishment code other than EST 611 or Line other than L1 are NOT affected by this recall. No other Maple Leaf products are affected by this recall.

All customers have been notified and product is immediately being removed from inventory or store shelves and returned to the Company. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is overseeing the completion of the recall.

Consumers who have purchased these products are asked to contact our Consumer Response Line at 1-800-568-5801 to arrange to have the products replaced, or return them to the store where they were purchased for a full refund or product replacement.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a leading food processing company, headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The Company employs approximately 24,000 people at its operations across Canada and in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Asia. The Company had sales of $5.2 billion in 2008.

TORONTO
August 4, 2009 (CNW)
MAPLE LEAF FOODS INC.