More needles found in meat products in Ont. grocery store

The list of tampered meat products at a Guelph, Ont., grocery store grew Thursday after an additional four needles were found in Schneiders products.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued a warning for an extended list of Schneiders products Thursday after the total numbers of sewing needles discovered inside meat packages climbed to 11.

Police and officials from Loblaw Companies Ltd. continue to investigate after a number of identical sewing needles were discovered inside a variety of Schneiders products – including Lunchmates, SmartLunch and Juicy Jumbo wieners – at No Frills grocery store in Guelph.

"We’ve identified an additional four needles in three packages of wieners," said Inge van der Berg, vice-president of public relations with Loblaw. "Thankfully, they were already removed from the shelves and (the discovery) was based on a more thorough inspection (Wednesday) afternoon."

Van der Berg said the company was confident it had isolated the tampering, having conducted inspections at 18 of its stores within a 25-kilometre radius.

No Frills staff in Guelph discovered seven needles, ranging in size from 36 to 48 millimetres, inserted in the Schneiders products on Tuesday

after a woman returned a tampered package to the store.

Police were called and they began investigating the incidents on Wednesday. Guelph police Const. Kevin McCord said Thursday there are no "persons of interest" in the case.

The products included in Thursday’s CFIA list are: Lunchmate Stackers (ham) with UPC No. 62000 31917 and a best-before date of April 29; Lunchmate Stackers (turkey) with UPC No. 62000 31933 and a May 8 best-before date; Lunchmate Stackers (summer sausage) with UPC No. 62000 11452 and an expiration of April 29; SmartLunch Traditional Style Pepperoni Pizza with UPC No. 62000 18466 and a March 22 best-before date; SmartLunch Bagel Combo (with cream cheese) with UPC No. 62000 18469 and an expiration date of March 20; Original Wieners with UPC No. 0 620180 3 and a May 4 best-before date; Light 55% less-fat wieners with UPC No. 62000 63681 and a best-before date of April 16; Original Juicy Jumbos with UPC No. 62000 15806 and a March 27 expiration date; and Hot N’ Spicy Juicy Jumbos with UPC No. 62000 15822 and an April 10 best-before date.

Guelph is about 100 kilometres west of Toronto.