Another Canada Listeria Death Linked to Tainted Maple Leaf Meat
September 2nd, 2008 laurie
The Windsor Star reports an 81-year-old Leamington woman died last week after testing positive for listeria contracted the bacteria strain found in recalled Maple Leaf deli meats, health officials said Tuesday.
Elizabeth Schmidt died Aug. 27 after being hospitalized a week earlier for a medical condition unrelated to the listeria outbreak. A second listeria-infected woman died Friday night after being hospitalized at Windsor Regional Hospital on Aug. 25. Health officials haven’t determined if the 60-year-old Tecumseh woman’s infection is related to the Maple Leaf food recall.
The Maple Leaf listeria outbreak has claimed 12 lives and another seven deaths are under investigation. Thirty-eight people have been sickened from tainted meat, while there are another 21 suspected cases. Maple Leaf started recalling deli meats processed at its Toronto plant on Aug. 17. The recalled was expanded nine days ago to 220 products. The Health Unit has searched 900 retail outlets of about 1,500 that sold or served deli meat.












