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.
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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.
![Click to play video: 'Ontario production facility linked to Silk and Great Value plant-based milk recall'](https://i1.wp.com/media.globalnews.ca/videostatic/news/vmdkurq6xi-6uawrpzomh/KAYLASTILLWE.jpg?w=1040&quality=70&strip=all)
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.
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