FOI Documents Suggest Plant-Based Milk Facility Linked to Deadly Outbreak Was ‘Haven for Listeria,’ Experts Say

FOI Documents Suggest Plant-Based Milk Facility Linked to Deadly Outbreak Was ‘Haven for Listeria,’ Experts Say
The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick
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Documents detailing an inspection of a beverage production facility that regulators say was the source of a deadly listeria outbreak reveal it was cited for several infractions that have not been shared previously, including some that experts say suggest may have created a “haven for listeria.”

The Canadian Press obtained through a Freedom of Information request a copy of an inspection conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency into a Pickering, Ont., facility that packaged several types of plant-based milk initially recalled on July 8, 2024 by the agency due to concerns of listeria contamination. The Public Health Agency of Canada said the outbreak led to 20 reported illnesses, 15 hospitalizations and three deaths.