An investigation in Ontario into deli meats contaminated with listeria now includes the review of five deaths. According to a spokesperson with the province’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, investigators will examine the deaths for any possible connections to the food items from Siena Foods Ltd recently recalled. Some of these recalled products had been distributed throughout Canada. However, investigators are only considering deaths in Ontario for possible links.

Siena Foods spokesperson Andrew Morrison said that there is no connection between the deaths and the two previously recalled Siena Foods meat products. Those meats, the Siena-brand prosciutto cotto cooked ham in particular, have been associated with two non-fatal Ontario listeriosis cases by Dr. Arlene King, Ontario’s chief medical officer. Listeriosis is a dangerous infection caused by the contaminated food.

The recall issued by Siena Foods on Thursday, which included the ham and salami, includes Siena products that have a best-before date between March 8 and March 22 from delis, grocery stores, and specialty food shops in Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec. The contaminated prosciutto and mild cacciatore salami was first sold to food stores in bulk and then directly to consumers after January 11, 2010.

Saturday, Siena Foods and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency broadened their warning not to eat certain dried meat products because of possible contamination with listeria monocytogenes. Siena Foods has also has ceased production of its products at its Toronto plant and is working to sanitize the facility alongside the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is investigating fourteen total cases of listeriosis that have been reported this year. This includes the five deaths that the ministry is currently analyzing. The Public Health Agency of Canada was unable or unwilling to say whether there were investigations underway to link Siena meats with listeriosis cases in other jurisdictions.

Ontario Probes New Listeria Cases