It was the deadly bacteria that almost caused the collapse of the 100-year old food firm as 20 deaths have been attributed to listeria found in various cold cut products of Maple Leaf.
Health Canada approved on Sept. 20 the use of sodium diacetate as a preservative for meat, poultry and fish.
Aside from planning to use the additive, Maple Leaf had its Toronto facility sanitized, which led the government to permit the company to resume food production on Sept. 17. But all produce are still not allowed to leave the plant until Health Canada finishes the testing of all Maple Leaf products.
Maple Leaf chief executive officer Michael McCain, in a press conference, pointed out listeria is prevalent and is unknowingly ingested by Canadians everyday in low levels. Tests made by Cornell University Food Science professor Martin Wiedmann showed that listeria was found on sidewalks, grocery cart wheels, playgrounds and bodies of water.
With the preservative, low levels of listeria on equipment could kill the bacteria. "(People) usually expect food to be free of bacteria... You can't. We've evolved over millions of years to co-exist with bacteria and we have defense mechanisms against it," Wiedmann explained to the Canadian Press.
McCain said he suspected the listeria was accumulated on its meat-slicing equipment during summer.
