Listeria in Silk and Great Value Plant-Based Milk Alternatives Kills 2 in Canada
Two people in Canada died from listeria infections after consuming plant-based milk alternatives, local health authorities said Wednesday.
A further 10 people became ill—nine of whom were hospitalized—after they drank the milk substitutes made from almonds, oats, coconuts, and cashews, the Canadian government said in a public health notice. The deaths and infections were linked to a national recall of products sold by the Silk and Great Value brands, with the beverages pulled from shelves last week.
Dairy-substitute brand Silk, which is owned by French multinational Danone, says on its site that its contaminated drinks were produced in a “third-party manufacturing facility,” adding that its operations wouldn’t resume at the site while an investigation is underway. The plant in question is in Ontario and its affected products weren’t shipped outside Canada, a Danone spokeswoman told The New York Times.