Ontario reports 9 cases of listeriosis in outbreak linked to plant-based milk recall

Ontario’s top doctor says nine people in the province have become sick with listeriosis and five have been hospitalized in an outbreak that triggered a national recall of certain plant-based milks.

While the cases reported so far are all in Ontario, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is urging people across the country not to drink Silk oat, almond, coconut or almond and cashew milk and Great Value almond milk with expiry dates up to and including Oct. 4., as they could be contaminated with Listeria bacteria.

Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, says people should check their fridges for the recalled products and immediately throw them out or return them to where they were purchased.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says products contaminated with Listeria may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick.

Symptoms of listeriosis can include vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headache and neck stiffness.

Listeriosis can also be deadly, as it was in the widespread 2008 outbreak linked to cold cuts from a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto.

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“I strongly advise the public, especially those at high risk for listeriosis, such as the elderly, pregnant women and those with weak immune systems, to make sure they do not consume these recalled products,” Moore said in a news release on Tuesday.

The Canadian Press