Brandon officials and food workers are worried about potential backlash from the outbreak of listeriosis linked to tainted meat.
There's no connection between Brandon's Maple Leaf Foods plant and the outbreak of listeriosis from Toronto's Maple Leaf Foods plant, but Brandon Mayor Dave Burgess said the city's economic development office is waiting for the opportunity to speak to company president Michael McCain.
Tenderloin’s Zenon Klopick: close eye on staff
Robert Ziegler, union local president of United Food and Commercial Workers Canada, which represents meat plant workers in Brandon, said concerns over layoffs are already on people's minds.
As of late Wednesday, the Brandon plant hadn't implemented any new control or sanitation measures. Ziegler said workers already adhere to a strict code to avoid contaminating meat.
Maple Leaf did not return calls requesting an interview.
"Whether it ends up affecting Brandon or not, that's almost a secondary concern," Burgess said. "We're more concerned with the safety of the public."
The outbreak has raised questions about the quality of infection controls in meat-processing facilities and whether government inspectors are properly policing them. Federal health officials confirmed 29 Canadians have been infected with listeriosis, including five who have died.
A 2002 Health Canada report evaluating the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's handling of ready-to-eat meat products flagged Listeria as a concern and told food-safety officials they need "more vigilant and effective controls." In response, CFIA adopted the U.S. model and shifted responsibility for testing to the food industry.
"It never should have happened, but eventually it was going to happen somewhere," Ziegler said. "No matter how hard we try something, something slips through the cracks."
Ziegler said federal inspectors are based at the Brandon facility's slaughter area, but no longer test the adjacent production line -- the role of swabbing, testing and monitoring operations everyday has been transferred to Maple Leaf staff.
Brandon's plant doesn't process meat into sausages or cold cuts like Toronto's plant, Ziegler said. That means there's a lower risk of contamination because bacteria is more difficult to kill when it is in hamburger meat or cold cuts.
Ziegler said the Brandon plant separates the kill area and the "clean" area, and workers who work on each side can't interact. They have stringent policies on shutting down the production line if a growth or something irregular is found on an animal. Anything that touches the floor is thrown away, and the plant is sanitized with government-approved chemicals and foam every day.
The fallout from the recall has spawned a boost to local meat processors.
Zenon Klopick, co-owner of Tenderloin Meat & Sausage, said he has fielded many calls from customers asking how his company sanitizes while making sausage and other processed meats.
He said an obvious benefit to a small operation is that it's easier to keep a close eye on employees.
Klopick said it's more difficult to have strict sanitation controls with hundreds of employees than it is with only a dozen.
jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca
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