Green Ham, No Eggs

In 2008 the headlines were grim.

Canadians were being forced to question their food safety as hundreds of people feel ill after eating tainted meat. The culprit: an outbreak of listeriosis.

The outbreak was traced to a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto [in] summer [2008].

All 220 meat products produced at the facility were recalled and the plant was shut down while company and health officials tried to determine the source of the contamination.

Maple Leaf CEO Michael McCain has said two slicing machines are believed to be the most likely source of the listeria bacteria. McCain apologized for the outbreak and said his company would take full responsibility.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/02/02/maple.html#ixzz0owwPZ9fw

Of particular concern for us, as we were pregnant at the time, is that:

Pregnant women who develop listeriosis in their first trimester are at risk of miscarriage while women in the later stages of pregnancy are at risk of delivering a stillborn or acutely ill infant. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, pregnant women are 20 times more likely than healthy adults to develop the disease.

 http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/08/21/f-listeria-faqs.html#ixzz0ox5GlRhp

The crisis got so much attention that the Prime Minister announced an independent investigation into the outbreak. The final tally of confirmed deaths resulting from the outbreak is 23 (from the Public Health Agency of Canada).

Maple Leaf Foods has faced an ongoing public relations challenge in the wake of the crisis. They reached a reported $27 million settlement with the plaintiffs in a class action suit, but convincing people to buy their products has been an uphill battle. Canadians are still questioning whether to buy deli meats, hot dogs and other similar prepared foods.

In this context I have been invited to a "roundtable dialogue for bloggers to discuss concerns and questions surrounding the recall".  Full disclosure: this roundtable is being hosted by Maple Leaf and organized by Matchstick, a "word of mouth advertising agency".  A food safety expert will be leading the roundtable and there will also be a product tasting (if I'm brave enough). I am being asked by the organisers to ask you readers to submit any questions you might have for Maple Leaf. I am happy to do so.

What do you want to know from Maple Leaf? I don't think we need to limit our questions to food safety either. I'm sure we can touch on issues from healthy products to corporate social responsibility.

Please post your questions in the comments below, and you never know, there may be something in it for you too (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

I'll report back on the outcomes of the roundtable with my unvarnished opinions. I hope that this adventure will further the discussion of not only food safety, but also what we feed ourselves and our kids.


Cheers,


Nick (CanaDad)