Kensington cheese shop investigated for listeria
Last Updated: Friday, August 29, 2008 | 8:57 AM ET
CBC News
A cheese shop in Toronto's Kensington Market is being investigated for possible listeria contamination.
Ping Chiu, owner of Cheese Magic in Kensington Market, had to throw out $1,000 worth of cheese because of a listeria concern. (CBC)
Ping Chiu, owner of Cheese Magic, showed off a garbage can full of $1,000 worth of unpasteurized cheese, which health officials from the city and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency forced her to bleach and throw out so it can't be resold.
Chiu said inspectors told her a pregnant customer alleged she ate cheese from the store, and she got listeriosis as well as passed it on to her baby.
"According to the health inspector, it was listeria. Although I was told by two big cheese suppliers that it can't be listeria," she said.
Four samples were taken and are being tested.
In the meantime, authorities have ordered all goods off the counter.
"I was told that one lady got sick from consuming one of our cheeses, but I have no word as to which cheese she got from us [or] if it's our cheese for sure, as to when she bought it, and what she had done to that cheese before she ate it. You know what I mean? So it's up in the air right now and my heart goes out to that lady who had bought cheese from us."
Chiu said her shop was inspected three months ago and inspectors had no problems and she questions if they're purposely cracking down on stores like hers because of the current listeria outbreak.
An isolated case?
Dr. Vinita Dubey, associate medical officer of health, says the city is not picking on cheese shops. This, she said, is an isolated case.
Cheese sold at a store in Kensington Market is being tested for possible listeria contamination. (CBC)"For this case, we are investigating her to see if she's related to the Maple Leaf Foods outbreak. But at the same time, we know she consumed a lot of cheese at this particular cheese store."
Dubey says the woman and her baby recovered and investigators are still waiting for final results.
"We're not sure right now. We're waiting for her specific DNA fingerprint to come back. But we do know cheeses, especially soft cheeses, can be high risk for listeria, especially for pregnant women."
Among the types of cheeses seized from the shop in Kensington Market are two Quebec-made brands that are now the subject of a nationwide recall.
