The North York meat facility identified as the source of a nationwide listeriosis outbreak was allowed to conduct its own food testing, according to reports emerging Wednesday morning.
The Maple Leaf Foods facility on Bartor Road was one of several plants allowed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to handle its own food safety inspections.
The sole federal inspector on-site at Maple Leaf mainly handled paperwork, and was also responsible for several other plants -- something an official from the inspectors' union says is not uncommon.
As of March 31, some plants were allowed a greater role in the inspection of their own product, says the unnamed official.
The Bartor Road facility remains closed and sanitization continues after listeria-tainted meat made its way to homes and institutions across Canada. At least 15 have died with the bacteria in their systems and 29 have fallen ill.
The plant is slated to reopen Thursday.
The report says the CFIA wanted to give the food industry as a whole an increasing role in monitoring its own food inspection, something the Conservative government is not confirming or denying.
For a complete list of recalled meats, visit the CFIA website.
With files from The Canadian Press
