Ontario Ministry Of Health May Clear Siena Foods From Listeriosis Deaths

Toronto, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – The Ontario Ministry of Health has virtually cleared Siena Foods of any connection with two Listeriosis deaths. The ministry said preliminary laboratory results showed no connection between the deaths and Siena cooked ham and salami.

Siena recalled the two deli meats on December 2009 and March 2010 after the products genetically matched two recent listeriosis cases, in which the victims were hospitalized, but eventually recovered.

However, preliminary results showed the meats recalled last week, from Ontario and Alberta, have different genetic fingerprints than Siena’s meats that were recalled in December. The ministry is still waiting for final laboratory results of a genetic match to Siena’s meats and those who became sick after they ate the deli meat, but preliminary data indicated no match.

Siena, which faces class-action lawsuits over its products, shuttered its Toronto plant and is sanitizing its facilities under the supervision of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Eating food with Listeria moncytogenes could be fatal, especially for pregnant women, the babies in their wombs, very young people and adults with weak immune systems.

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