Canada's Maple Lodge Farms moves to eradicate listeria

Maple Lodge Farms, the largest chicken processor in Canada, has tapped into new technology to ensure its products are listeria-free as a result of the listeria food poisoning crisis last year.

Maple Lodge Farms chief executive Michael Burrows said the company is now using a high-pressure method on its sliced luncheon meats to destroy listeria and other pathogens once the package is sealed.

The technology costs US$1 million, and Burrows said Canadian consumers will shoulder the cost of the new technology at two cents per 100 grammes of meat bought from Maple Lodge.

The listeria outbreak last year killed 21 people, and had cost Maple Leaf millions of dollars in product recalls and lawsuits, including a US$27 million settlement made with the family of the victims.