Vegan Practically

Anyone who uses plant-based milks in Canada is surely aware by now of the recall of various Silk and Great Value products — refrigerated oat, almond, and coconut milks — because of listeria contamination. I remember when I used to think that only animal products were susceptible to contaminants like e-coli, listeria, salmonella, and such. It was a reassuring time, but then came e-coli in raspberries and romaine lettuce. And salmonella in canteloupe.

This CBC article reports that food safety organizations explain listeria as follows: “Listeria monocytogenes, widely referred to as Listeria, can be found in soil, vegetation, sewage and water, as well as in the feces of both animals and humans.” If ingested, it can (but doesn’t always) lead to listeriosis. Listeriosis can be quite serious. Two deaths are linked to the contaminated plant-based milk.

As with many foodborne bacteria, it gets in during processing, mostly from poor sanitation practices in a facilty. And then it multiplies. When foods are contaminated with listeria, they look and smell just fine. So there is no sniff test that will identify it. And while cooking can eliminate most contaminants, we obviously don’t usually cook milk or plant-based milk alternatives. Pasteurization also helps, but only the shelf-stable products (which were not recalled and are still easy to find) are pasteurized. I’ve taken to steaming my plant-based milk when I’m using it in coffee or putting it on my oatmeal (it’s elevates it to a luxurious height), but I don’t do that always.

My heart kind of sank when I heard about the plant-based milk recall because plant-based foods frankly don’t need the bad press. People are so quick to find a reason to reject them, and now Silk will be associated with listeria for a long time to come. Indeed, the past two times I’ve been to the grocery store there have been no refrigerated Silk plant-based milks at all, even though only almond, oat, and cashew products were on the recall list. And there have been almost no other brands in the refrigerator either.

To keep some perspective, the most frequent culprits in carrying listeria are all animal products: deli-meats, hot dogs, paté and meat spreads unless canned or frozen, raw or undercooked meat, poultry or fish, raw or unpasteurized cheeses, seafood that isn’t canned, shelf-stable, frozen smoked, or fully cooked. The Government of Canada page about listeriosis-prevention doesn’t even mention raw fruits and vegetables. But since these things can come into contact with contaminants in manure or in processing facilities, they should be mentioned as well. You should always wash your veggies and fruits before eating them, even if you’re going to peel them.

The article about the recall mentions several ways to keep safer: “including washing your hands before and after handling food, cleaning fruits and vegetables and avoiding certain foods like raw, unpasteurized milk, soft cheeses or raw meats.”

It goes without saying that no commercially produced or processed foods are going to be perfect. Mass production in industrialized facilities is always going to increase risk of contamination, which is why the health and safety standards in the industry need to be high, and inspection needs to be routine and exacting. As I write this, a report has just been released about the e-coli outbreak that affected about 450 children in Alberta daycare centres last Fall, with 38 hospitalized for serious illness. Thankfully no one died. But some of the children have ongoing health issues and parents’ faith in the system is understandably shaken. The outbreak came from a contaminated meat loaf that was made in a central kitchen and sent out to a number of daycares across the city of Calgary. The radio newscast I listened to mentioned illegal abattoirs that bypass food inspection as a possible source of e-coli infected meat. It recommends, among other things, increasing food inspection and food safety standards in childcare facilities.

As an average consumer, I have little idea of what goes on behind the scenes unless I do some extra research. The latest scare does give me pause about my brand loyalty. I now have a different brand of refrigerated oat milk in my fridge. I have also become aware of something I didn’t know, which makes me realize too that I take a lot for granted: Danone is the Silk parent-company. And while they have re-oriented to produce more plant-based brands, they are also major players in dairy. Most of the more popular yogurts (Activia, Oikos, and of course Danone itself, to name a few) are Danone brands, and they also make lots and lots of bottled water (Evian, Volvic, Aqua, and eight more). If company practices around sanitation are in question, then a lot more than Silk brand plant-based milks is thrown into question.

Last year the Canadian Food Inspection Agency oversaw 164 food recalls. The upshot here is that while we need to balance risk in our food choices, and there is indeed plenty of risk to go around, there is no special risk associated with plant-based milks.