Good on Maple Leaf – learning from the past is a good way of preventing a bad future

Years ago – it might have been its first Symposium (never invited back), I was a speaker on the topic of “why it is a bad idea to poison your customers.”

The Maple Leaf Listeria outbreak occurred in 2008, causing 23 deaths and 57 confirmed illnesses. The outbreak was linked to deli meats produced at the company’s Bartor Road facility in Toronto.

It is painful to remind yourself of past failings, but the alternative of ignoring is really not a good option.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSX: MFI) hosted the 15^th annual Food Safety Symposium in Mississauga Ontario on October 21, 2025. The event, titled “How many more wake up calls? Confronting the Listeria threat – reclaiming control before the next crisis,” brought together hundreds of food safety professionals to discuss and engage on the alignment and intersection of culture and best practices to control Listeria and foodborne illness.

“Food safety is in the DNA of Maple Leaf Foods. From plant design to ensuring we all remember and recognize the terrible losses that can be suffered in a food safety crisis, we consistently look at new innovations and new ways to keep our people and our customers safe,” said Dr. Randy Huffman, Chief Food Safety and Sustainability Officer, Maple Leaf Foods. “The Food Safety Symposium is a terrific opportunity for Maple Leaf Foods to bring together leaders across the industry to identify trends, share best practices, and inspire each other to be our best every day.”

The 15^th annual Food Safety Symposium engaged attendees with addresses from Maple Leaf Foods that emphasized the importance of strong leadership alignment to food safety strategies. Leaders from across the packaged and processed food space shared their stories – the moments when they understood that food safety had to be a systemic way of thinking and acting in order to achieve better and better results.

Nicole Johnson-Hoffman, COO of the Meat Institute led an executive industry panel with Jim Snee, retired Chairman, President and CEO of Hormel Foods, David Van Eekeren, President and CEO of Land O’Frost, and Dennis Vignieri, President and CEO of Birchwood Foods.

The panel discussed the importance of senior leaders being involved with the food safety team and Hoffman noted the importance of trusting your experts without losing sight of the need for vigilance. “Of course you have to put faith in your experts. But when it comes to food safety there is a limit to trust. What’s the rule? Trust but verify. You have to probe. You have to get a second opinion. You have to find the other resources that lead us to where we had not looked,” said Johnson-Hoffman.

Additionally, attendees heard from Dr. Lone Jespersen, Principal and Founder of Cultivate SA, who discussed the need for systems and culture to go hand in hand to build stronger food safety systems and work toward the eradication of pathogens. Jespersen asked attendees how many work with Human Resources to ensure organizational structure matches the needs for food safety. Leadership presence, she said, improves performance.

“Foodborne illnesses are on the rise and this not the time to sit on our laurels and hope. The Maple Leaf Foods manufacturing and food safety teams are to be congratulated for the development of this annual Symposium. Industry collaboration like this shows consumers that their trust in our quality and safety is well-placed,” said Adam Grogan, President and Chief Operating Officer, Maple Leaf Foods.

Republished with permission from Bill Marler and Marler Clark. Copyright (c) Marler Clark LLP, PS. All rights reserved.