The Canadian Public Health Agency said it only detected a major outbreak after several listeria cases emerged in Ontario in June, which had already begun in August 2023.
There has been a lot of talk about why it took nearly a year for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to announce a nationwide recall of several plant-based milk products under the Silk and Great Value brands on July 8.
The federal agency said it became aware of two cases of genetic listeriosis – the disease caused by Listeria bacteria – in September 2023, but was not aware of any shared food exposure.
PHAC spokeswoman Anna Maddison says the connection was not made until several cases were reported in Ontario in June 2024 and a provincial investigation was launched.
Three people have died in Ontario as a result of the outbreak. People in Quebec, Nova Scotia and Alberta are also infected with the virus.
A third Ontario person has died in a Listeria outbreak linked to plant-based milk. CBC’s Chris Glover spoke with an infectious disease specialist about what consumers should look out for.
The origin of the illness was traced to a specific production line at a third-party beverage packaging facility in Pickering, Ontario, used by plant-based milk manufacturer Danone Canada.
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