Food safety warning: Shredded pork rind and shredded pork skin sold to certain restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area may be unsafe due to Salmonella

Ottawa – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Ontario Ministry of Health are warning restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area not to purchase, use, or serve the products described below due to possible Salmonella contamination.

The following products are known to have been sold to certain restaurants in the GTA which serve Vietnamese/Asian meals. These products were sold frozen to restaurants in clear plastic bags with no labels, no lot codes, no identifiers, and no cooking instructions. At this time there is no evidence of these products being sold directly to consumers and they do not appear to be available or sold at supermarkets.

Products

The warning involves various sizes of shredded pork rind and shredded pork skin products sold frozen in clear plastic bags, with no labels, no lot codes, no identifiers and no cooking instructions (as pictured), the CFIA said in a news release.

What you should do

Check to see if you have the affected products in your restaurant. If the products are in your facility, do not use them.

If you think you became sick from consuming a food product, call your doctor.

Food contaminated with Salmonella may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick. Young children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems may contract serious and sometimes deadly infections. Healthy people may experience short-term symptoms such as fever, headache, vomiting, nausea, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Long-term complications may include severe arthritis.

Background

This warning was triggered by an investigation into a foodborne illness outbreak of salmonellosis. The outbreak is associated with consumption of food dishes containing shredded pork rind and/or shredded pork skin from certain restaurants serving Vietnamese/Asian meals in the GTA.

Illnesses

There have been reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products. Ministry of Health (Ontario), in collaboration with Public Health Ontario, local public health units and food safety partners are investigating an outbreak of human illness.

More information

For further information: Public enquiries and media, Ministry of Health (Ontario), Toll free : 1-888-414-4774, In Toronto: (416) 314-6197, Email: media.moh@ontario.ca; Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Media relations, Telephone: 613-773-6600, Email: cfia.media.acia@inspection.gc.ca