Tainted deli meats outbreak in Canada spreads

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

OTTAWA (AFP) — Sixty-five people have either died or become sick likely from contaminated deli meats in Canada, health officials said Thursday, as a nationwide outbreak of listeriosis expanded.

The death toll from listeria infections remained unchanged at 15. So too was the number of confirmed cases, at 29.

However, officials said they now suspected 36 cases of food poisoning in five provinces may also be linked to the outbreak, up from 31 cases the previous day.

The Public Health Agency of Canada said of the 36 suspected cases being investigated, all were positive for listeriosis, but laboratory tests had not yet linked them to the outbreak strain from a Toronto area facility.

On August 19, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued a recall of...