Action delayed two months after E. coli warning: officials

Recall involving Loblaws meat products could be expanded

CALGARY – A nationwide recall this week of frozen hamburgers by federal food inspectors comes nearly two months after they were first told about an Edmonton patient who had eaten the Loblaws product and then fallen ill from a potentially fatal bacteria.

Health officials in Alberta say they sounded a very specific alarm on Oct. 9, but the Canadian Food Inspection Agency insists it wasn’t able to issue a public health alert until Dec. 12, when testing of the suspect burgers from store shelves yielded a pair of positive results for E. coli 0157:H7.

Officials with the federal agency were unavailable Friday to be interviewed about the apparent delay, but a spokesman provided an email response to the Calgary Herald.

“The CFIA takes action when it has science-based evidence that a product on the marketplace has been contaminated,” Lisa Gauthier said.

“Two presumptive positive samples provided the necessary evidence to initiate a food recall on the affected product.”

Before federal inspectors could gather the evidence they say they needed to issue this week’s health alerts about various Butcher’s Choice brand burgers, there were at least four other cases of illness, including a Red Deer patient who got sick on Nov. 22.

Health officials in Ontario say three people in that province are among those who fell ill.

Frank Plummer, who heads the national microbiology lab for the Public Health Agency of Canada, told reporters the DNA fingerprint in the cases has never been seen before in North America and is strong evidence all the patients got sick from eating the same product.

“We don’t know yet what that common source is,” he told reporters Thursday.

“Possibly the hamburgers, but we’re not sure at this point.”

Additional testing on the contaminated product found on store shelves will confirm if it is also the same genetic strain.

A CFIA chronology indicates federal officials didn’t twig to the possibility of an illness outbreak and the need for a recall until Dec. 5.

That was the day they held a conference call with their provincial counterparts to discuss the emerging cases and “possible linkages to certain frozen burgers” produced for Loblaws at a plant in Brampton, Ont.

But Bart Johnson, a spokesman for Alberta Health, said his department told the agency about a potential link nearly two months earlier.

While his staff had no specific production date for the suspect product, Johnson said they told CFIA on Oct. 9 about a patient who had fallen ill a week earlier from E. coli poisoning who had recently eaten ground beef from Loblaws.

“Lab confirmation of the Edmonton area case was provided,” he said in an email reply to questions.

“(The patient) had exposure to President’s Choice frozen patties and Butcher’s Choice Garlic Flavour frozen patties.” CFIA’s chronology indicates it began its investigation at the Ontario processor, Cardinal Meat Specialists Limited, on Dec. 6.

Company president Brent Cator said he may have been aware of a potential problem earlier, but there was insufficient information to launch a recall.

“There were people who had commented in their history that they had consumed these Butcher’s Choice products,” Cator said. “At that point, when you have no date and no confirmation, the most you can do is look at any production history on the line.”

He said he suspects the source of the E. coli contamination is the whole cuts and trim that the company purchases from multiple processors in Canada and internationally and uses to make ground beef products.

“Without a doubt,” Cator said.“E. coli does not originate at a further processor or grinder like ourselves.”

The recall has now been expanded to include two types of Butcher’s Choice products with three different best-before dates.

CFIA has said it’s now digging through the company’s records and conducting further testing to see what other products could have been affected.

“There’s a possibility that additional products could be identified,” said Garfield Balsom, a food safety specialist with the agency.

“As a result, this recall could expand.”