A few businesses in St. Albert have been impacted by a recent recall of pork products linked to an outbreak of E. coli.
The recall was issued following an investigation by Alberta Health Services and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which traced the infection to The Meat Shop in Pine Haven Hutterite colony near Wetaskiwin.
In a release AHS said the outbreak is across the Edmonton zone. It was determined that pork from The Meat Shop in Pine Haven had been sold to to Irvings Farm Fresh and K&K Foodliner.
The infection was discovered in some pork products sold between Feb. 21 and April 25 by Irvings Farm Fresh, which was sold to the Grapevine Deli, Candy Bouquet and The Dinner Factory in St. Albert.
“It’s not a good situation, but we’ve had nothing but positive response from the restaurants and the stores we supply and customers that have reached out to us,” said Alan Irving, owner of Irvings Farm Fresh.
The company said after conversations with the owner of Candy Bouquet, which sells English breakfast sausage sold by Irvings Farm Fresh that was on the recall list, the business had pulled the product from the shelves.
AHS recommends that anyone who still has product that could be infected should either throw it out or return it to the store it was purchased from.
Irving said sausage items that were on the recall list had supplemented pork from The Meat Shop in Pine Haven.
For one business, the notification came almost too late. Each month the Dinner Factory features one meal, and for the month of April the dish used Italian sausage that was on the recall list.
The owner said even though they had cooked the meat at 75C and above, which is higher than the recommended temperature to kill bacteria such as E. coli, he decided to get rid of the remaining dishes.
“It’s always a sad thing when people are being affected because of food that they buy,” he said. “At the beginning of the month we had no idea what was happening,” said Edward Wanat, owner of Dinner Factory.
Wanat said he was frustrated when he learned that the pork was being recalled, but said it was an unfortunate situation for everyone involved.
“I guess at one point the blame has to be pointed at some place, but there is a lot of innocent businesses in here that are in the middle and they have no control over it.”
Wanat said he replaced the meat on the remaining dishes with different Italian sausage, which has cost the business both time and money.
Customers who bought the jumbo pasta dish with the recalled sausage are now being contacted.
The Grapevine Deli also had products that were recalled. When the Gazette reached out to the deli, the owner declined to comment.
Irving said he has contacted Grapevine Deli, which had taken delivery of quite a few of the recalled sausages, to inform them that the products need to be removed. He said the products included: English breakfast sausage, Cumberland sausage, gluten-free Lincolnshire sausage, gluten-free Canadian maple sausage, gluten-free spicy fresh pork chorizo sausage, gluten-free rosemary garlic sausage, mild sweet fennel Italian sausage, leek sausage and gluten-free sun-dried tomato and fresh basil sausage.
AHS said in a release that there have been 36 lab-confirmed cases of E. coli across the Edmonton zone, including 11 hospitalizations and one possible death.
E. coli symptoms take between one and 10 days after eating contaminated meat, which includes bloody diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. Those who are concerned can call Health Link at 811.
Meanwhile an Edmonton law firm announced Thursday it was launching a $15 million class action lawsuit against the Meat Shop at Pine Haven on behalf of people who suffered damages as a result of consuming or buying pork products that may have been contaminated with E. coli.
To reduce risk of E. coli and other food-related infections, AHS recommends:
• Wash your hands with hot, soapy water often. This includes after using the bathroom, before touching food, after touching raw meat and after changing diapers
• Avoid preparing food for others when afflicted with diarrhea
• Cooking beef and pork to an internal temperature of at least 71C (160F)
• Before eating, make sure all fruits and vegetables are thoroughly washed
• Wash kitchen tools and surfaces that have touched raw meat
• Use only pasteurized milk, dairy, and juice products
• When in countries with unsafe drinking water, don't use ice or drink tap water and avoid consuming raw fruits and vegetables, except those with skin that you peel yourself
