Silk’s dairy-free almond, coconut, cashew and oat milk, made in Canada, has been linked to listeriosis. Infection with the bacteria Listeria has led to three deaths and 20 illnesses, according to official figures.
2 dead in Ontario in listeriosis outbreak linked to plant-based milk recall
Two people in Ontario have now died from listeriosis in an outbreak linked to plant-based beverages made by Silk and Great Value.
CBC English
The death of a third person is linked to consumption of almond, oat and other non-dairy milk products that have been recalled in Canada due to possible listeria contamination, health officials say.
Canada’s public health agency issued a warning on July 17 advising people to avoid certain refrigerated dairy products made by Danone Canada, sold in the country under the Silk brand and Walmart’s Great Value brand. Consumption of plant-based beverages has been linked to two deaths and 12 cases of listeria infections.
A third death and eight more cases – 15 hospitalized and 20 cases linked to the outbreak – were listed in an agency update Monday, Aug. 12. Thirteen of the cases were reported in Ontario, five in Quebec and one each in Alberta and Nova Scotia; the people became ill between August 2023 and early July 2024, the agency said.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is continuing to investigate the case and said more products may be recalled. “New illnesses may continue to be reported as part of the outbreak because there is a time lag between a person becoming ill and the illness being reported to health authorities,” the agency said.
The recalled products – including almond, cashew, coconut and oat milk – have best-before dates of September and October 2024 and were only sold in Canada, the agency said.
A list of the 18 products can be found on the agency’s website.
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Recalled products have been removed from shelves and warehouses, Frédéric Guichard, president of Canadian operations for Silk’s parent company Danone, said in an Instagram post in July. “From the moment of the recall, we have suspended all our production at the affected third-party manufacturing facility. All products are now manufactured in other plants.”
The company has also “doubled” product testing at its facilities, he said.
Listeria outbreaks in the USA: sausage and ice cream
There have also been frequent outbreaks of listeria in the United States in recent months.
An outbreak of illness linked to Boar’s Head liverwurst and other sausage products has caused at least three deaths, been blamed for the hospitalization of at least 40 other people in 13 U.S. states, and led to numerous lawsuits.
Another multistate listeria outbreak linked to cheese made by Rizo-López Foods of Modesto, Calif., left two people dead and 23 hospitalized. The nationwide recall in February led to recalls of products such as salad and taco kits containing queso fresco and cotija cheese from stores such as Albertsons, Costco, Walmart, Bristol Farms and WinCo. In July, Wiers Farm of Willard, Ohio, recalled cucumbers and other vegetables from Aldi and Walmart stores in 13 states because of possible listeria contamination. A month earlier, ice cream maker Totally Cool Inc. of Owings Mills, Maryland, recalled 68 ice cream products from 13 brands because of the risk of listeria contamination. The Food and Drug Administration has not reported any illnesses or complaints related to these recalls.
What are Listeria? What you need to know
Learn about Listeria, its symptoms and important preventive measures to protect against foodborne illness.
Listeria outbreaks: Symptoms of listeriosis
Listeria are bacteria that contaminate food and can cause infection when consumed.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms include fever, muscle aches and gastrointestinal problems.
According to the CDC, about 1,600 people become ill with listeria each year and about 260 die from it.
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