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Recall leaves bad taste for some consumers

by Nav Pall
View all articles from Nav Pall
Article online since September 3rd 2008, 9:59
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Some cold cuts for sale at a local grocery store. Chronicle, Nav Pall

Nav Pall

The listeriosis bacteria forcing a recall of 220 Maple Leaf Foods products has reached new heights last week when a class action suit was filed on Aug. 26.

The law firm Merchant Law Group responsible for initiating the first class action suit against Maple Leaf Foods is anticipating 10,00 applicants claiming compensation for illness, anxiety and grief from consuming the processed goods, according to attorney Owen Plasquero, responsible for filing the class action suit in Quebec on behalf of his firm.

“A company did something wrong and we try to compensate,” Plasquero said “Realistically we can’t expect results before two years time.”

As the class action suit continues to unfold, the Lester B. Pearson School Board with ____ students has taken precautions with their cafeteria food suppliers Chartwells.

“(Cartwells) has assured us their efforts in quality control (of listeria) have increased,” said Pearson chairman Marcus Tabachnick. “We ordered the food this week, no product is left over from last year. We haven’t had any problems with the food department, and we won’t have any.”

However, some parents are leaving nothing to chance. Kenneth Richardson, a Dollard des Ormeaux resident and father of three refuses to feed cold cut products to his kids once they go back to school.

“I’m going to avoid it all together. I downloaded the total recall list and will not let them eat anything to do with processed foods,” said Richardson. “It may be crazy, but after been hospitalized with E. coli for a week I’d rather be crazy and not put them in harms way.”

Precautions can be taken if eating processed foods is unavoidable. According to Prof. Inteaz Alli, a food scientist from McGill University, heating your food until it is ‘piping hot’ is one way to kill the bacteria.

“If (the bacteria) is there, it’s not easy to get rid of (listeria),” Alli. “But it can be killed with a microwave.”

Much of the prevention from the bacteria is using ‘typical common sense’. For instance do not leave processed foods exposed to long as the bacteria can survive fridge temperature.

Once the bacterium enters the system, there is nothing to neutralize it.

“If the immune system is healthy, it can fight micro-organism,” warned professor Alli. “But you cannot know if your body can handle the bacteria , so don’t take any risks.”

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Your comments

Gary Klemenz

Comment online since September 3rd 2008
Well, I really don’t know who I am more ashamed of but as the days go on and new things surface, I find myself taking back some posts I have previously made on other sites.

There are less than 75 reported cases of listeria linked to Maple Leaf in the entire Country and there are presently over 1,500 claim mongers attached to Tony Merchant alone not to mention the other legal firms in the country who have filed suit. So lets see, Maple Leaf had an accident and people got sick and some died. These Lawyers figure that there will be about 10,000 people on this class action suit by the time the dust settles. Is Maple Leaf responsible? Sure, but to what degree? It’s nice to see the noble man McCain, stand in front of National Television and say “The Buck Stops Here” but why did he do that? Maple Leaf, all be it, had a problem that led to some illnesses and exactly how many deaths? When it was agencies above him and company that kept this information from the public and for how long? This could have been stopped sooner. So Maple Leaf is not totally to blame here and McCain played scapegoat.

Ah yes, we have a wealthy family (a very wealthy family), who have friends in high places, and it is election time….. hmmmmmmm … I really wonder if the current government would stand a chance of a re-election with dirty hands on this issue if Michael McCain didn’t take the total hit? What do you think?

Now for all you thieves who have attached themselves to this class action suit, if you win, where will the money come from? Maple Leaf? McCain? …. Lol …. It’s called third party liability insurance and if there isn’t enough there to cover, well rest assured there are company assets that would be liquidated but never would McCain or his family have to pay personally. So who are you thieves really hurting and taking from?

Let’s say there is enough insurance to cover the estimated possible 1 billion in claims. Do you really think the Insurance Corporations will just hand it out and life goes on?? Not likely. Now everyone can look forward to major insurance premium hikes for all areas of coverages. They have to replace that loss somehow and we’re it.

Now the flip side. If it isn’t enough money, and the sheriff is called in to seize company assets to satisfy a claim and divisions of the Company are forced to close or the company claims bankruptcy, well I guess then we have a tax hike to look at to cover the E.I . and the Welfare and you’ll be able to walk down the street and look these people in the eye and smile knowing that you were partial cause for them being out of work.

Now for Tony Merchant… Solicitor means lawyer… not a person who Solicits business … like you’ve had your hands wrapped so many times for. It is you with your big money words an promises who is actually making thieves out of some of these once honest people. Why don’t you look after some of the claims for people you took money from on promises and commitments you have never filled….. like me!