Plant-based milks facility did not follow listeria prevention protocol: CFIA

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says an Ontario facility producing plant-based milks was not adhering to Health Canada’s policies on listeria prevention prior to an outbreak that led to three deaths.

The federal agency says it visited the site six times and discovered the facility was not properly conducting environmental swabbing and finished-product testing for listeria prior to a national recall of several Silk and Great Value plant-based milk products on July 8.

“That obviously was unacceptable,” Health Minister Mark Holland said Tuesday while providing an update on the outbreak, which infected at least 20 people in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Alberta.

The CFIA says Joriki, a third-party facility in Pickering, Ont., used by plant milk manufacturer Danone Canada, was not considered “high risk” prior to the contamination, based on the type of food it was producing and its manufacturing process.

A three-year survey completed by the CFIA in 2022 found plant-based milk alternatives to be “generally safe,” with no listeria found in the samples taken.

For that reason, the CFIA did not conduct a licence inspection prior to the investigation.

However, it did visit the plant in response to consumer complaints about allergens, an “off-taste,” and mould in 2018 and 2019, and then again in 2023 and 2024.

“All necessary action was taken by the establishment to resolve the complaints,” the CFIA says. The agency also noted it’s the first time plant-based beverages have been linked to listeria illness in Canada.

Holland called the outbreak a “tragedy.”

“It’s imperative that we shut any deficiencies and understand what went wrong,” he said.

The CFIA says this outbreak shows that “new risks” emerge as scientific evidence evolves, and that its inspector general has launched a review of the circumstances surrounding the recall to identify and eliminate similar risks from taking place at other facilities.

Production at the Joriki plant will remain paused until the CFIA is satisfied with renovations to the facility.

-With files from David Cummings in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press