CBC News

Canadians should vote for the candidate who commits to improving food safety, two unions urged as they launched a national advertising campaign on Friday.

A single strain of listeria has been linked to 16 deaths traced to a Maple Leaf Foods meat processing plant in Toronto, prompting a nationwide recall of meat products.

The timing of the Oct. 14 federal election in the middle of the outbreak makes food safety an urgent issue, the groups said.

“Our unions are launching this campaign now, because of the urgent need for action and political commitment on the issue of food safety before more Canadians lives are put at risk,” said Michèle Demers, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada.

The institute and the Public Service Alliance of Canada launched radio and newspaper ads, and a web site that allows visitors to ask all local candidates to commit to a four-point plan to improve food safety.

The unions said they are not endorsing any particular political party, but called on voters to support whichever candidate is most committed to protecting consumers.

The two groups are seeking to:

* Hire 1000 more inspectors to improve compliance at food processing plants.

* Place an immediate moratorium on self-policing by the food industry.

* Restore public audit reports that ranked meat processing facilities based on government inspections.

* Remove obstacles that prevent inspectors and veterinarians from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency from taking immediate action when serious health problems arise.

As of Thursday evening, 43 cases of the disease had been linked to the listeriosis outbreak and 19 more were under investigation, the Public Health Agency of Canada reported. A long list of products made at the plant have been recalled.

In the 16 deaths, listeriosis has been determined to be the underlying or contributing cause; another five deaths are under investigation as to whether listeriosis caused or contributed to them.

Symptoms of listeriosis — which include high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea — can occur up to 70 days after consuming contaminated food, though the average incubation period is 30 days.

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