"I think in terms of safety, we can reduce risk by having fewer hands in the pot," said beef farmer Dave Smith. "I'm responsible and my butcher is responsible and that's it." (CBC)Small meat producers and a meat industry group are at odds over how consumers can reduce the risk of food-borne illness in the wake of a listeriosis outbreak that has been blamed for several deaths across Canada.

The outbreak has been traced to a large Maple Leaf Foods processing plant in Toronto.

Smaller meat producers such as Dave Smith, owner of Glen Farm just outside Ottawa, said people can reduce their exposure to such risks by buying meat from small local farmers.

"I think in terms of safety, we can reduce risk by having fewer hands in the pot," Smith said.

He raises his Aberdeen angus cattle in his own pastures, where they feed on grass, hay and apples. They are slaughtered and butchered at a small abattoir in nearby Smiths Falls, and the beef is sold directly to Smith's customers.

"I'm responsible and my butcher is responsible and that's it," he said.

Smith said the simple process contrasts with the specialized industrial process used by large producers, which could involve up to 10 steps.

Bigger is safer: meat council

Jason Miskelly said he has been receiving a lot of calls from customers wondering whether his meat is locally sourced. (CBC)But Jim Laws, executive director of the Ottawa-based Canadian Meat Council, said large meat producers are more likely to have the resources to operate more safely.

"Bigger establishments maybe have the ability to hire better-quality control staff, that can be on staff to check what's going on, and they also have some pretty incredible refrigeration systems that allow them to quickly cool the meat, which does extend its shelf life," said Laws, whose group represents federally registered meat producers.

Nevertheless, the butcher who processes Smith's meat said he has received 25 to 35 calls in the past several days from customers who want to know the source of the meat he handles in the wake of the listeriosis outbreak.

"They want to know that it's a local product," said Jason Miskelly, who runs the Rideau Meats abattoir in Smiths Falls, who said he tries to avoid handling meat from outside the region.

Ramine Shaw is among consumers who are careful to choose local meat, not just for safety but for quality.

"I think that consumers, some anyway, are saying now: 'Look, we're ready to pay higher prices if we can have something that's of better nutritional value and actually tastes like something,' " she said Tuesday, as she shopped with her two little boys at the Glebe Meat Market in Ottawa.

New rules threaten local meat: retailer

Despite a demand for local meat, some owners of stores that sell it say they are struggling.

Simone Sauvé, owner of the Glebe Meat Market, said safety rules the government introduced a year ago, driven by the meat industry, are part of the problem.

"We face possibly having to close this store because we can't implement their rules," she said, adding that retailers have been given some extra time to come into compliance.

The new rules call for separate tables for each type of meat, a disinfection schedule that would require the store to close twice daily for an hour at a time, and many separate coolers.

Sauvé said there has never been a problem with meat sold at her store, so such regulations are unnecessary.

But they could drive meat shops that sell local meat out of business, she said, leaving behind only the large national distributors.

"It will be controlled by large companies such as Maple Leaf. [If] there's a problem, it goes from B.C. to Atlantic Canada."