Listeria link to some plant-based milks took nearly a year: PHAC

The Public Health Agency of Canada says it was only after multiple Listeria cases emerged in Ontario in June that it recognized a broader outbreak that had started back in August 2023.

Questions have swirled around why it took nearly a year for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to announce a national recall of several Silk and Great Value plant-based milk products on July 8.

The federal agency says it became aware of two genetically related listeriosis cases — the illness caused by Listeria bacteria — in September 2023, but knew of no common food exposure.

PHAC spokesperson Anna Maddison says it was only when several cases in Ontario were reported in June 2024 and a provincial investigation was launched that the connection was made.

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There have been three deaths in Ontario linked to the outbreak, which has also infected individuals in Quebec, Nova Scotia and Alberta.

The source of the illness was traced to a specific production line at a third-party beverage packaging facility in Pickering, Ont., used by plant-milk manufacturer Danone Canada.