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Traces of the bacteria Listeria have been detected in samples of smoked salmon bought at a Vancouver retailer, a CBC News investigation has found.

Some varieties of the bacteria can cause the listeriosis infection, which caused the deaths of 22 Canadians in a 2008 outbreak.

Two contaminated samples — including one containing the potentially fatal strain Listeria monocytogenes — were found in chunks of smoked salmon, called salmon nuggets, purchased at Longliner Seafoods at the Granville Island Public Market.

The samples were analyzed at the University of British Columbia by food microbiologist Kevin Allen.

'If I was going to feed that to my daughter or son, the answer is no, I wouldn't.'—UBC food microbiologist Kevin Allen

A total of 53 samples of delicatessen meat and ready-to-eat seafood from nine stores around Vancouver were tested.

No Listeria bacteria were found in the deli meat .

Below recall threshold

The sample containing Listeria monocytogenes contained a concentration of bacteria that was below the federal threshold that would have necessitated automatic recall, but it is still a cause for concern, said Allen.

"It should definitely be ringing some alarm bells for these processors," he said.

People with compromised immune systems, including pregnant women and the elderly, are especially vulnerable to listeriosis.

But Allen said he would also not feed the tainted sample to his children.

"A healthy adult … likely could consume it with no consequence," Allen said. "However, if I was going to feed that to my daughter or son, the answer is no, I wouldn't."

Listeria bacteria can flourish even in food stored in a refrigerator, Allen said. The contaminated salmon was supplied to Longliner Seafoods from a Maple Ridge, B.C., company said Longliner manager Dave Moorehead.

"We're very concerned with [the test results]," Moorehead said. "That's why I deal with the companies I deal with, so that we don't have these problems."

Eating foods spoiled with Listeria monocytogenes can result in serious illness including brain and blood infections and is fatal in an estimated 20 per cent to 30 per cent of cases.

With files from the CBC's Lisa Johnson