The recent listeria outbreak has not only affected Canadian food companies but also consumer choice and confidence. A research conducted at the University of Guelph conducted a survey which lead to the conclusion.

People did not consider the potential risks of ready to eat meats to be important, till the Maple Leaf Foods outbreak of listeriiosis. After the outbreak and recall by Maple Foods, the proportion of panelists who said they never consume RTE meats at home jumped from six to 39 per cent. The percentage of people who admitted that they never eat RTE meat products in fast-food outlets or restaurants increased from nine to 56 per cent.

About 70 per cent of respondents said their perception of the safety of meat in general, of food products and of food as a whole hadn't changed. About 75 per cent people said they still considered ready-to-eat meats safe to eat.

After the detection of listeriosis cases across Canada this summer due to products from a Maple Leaf Foods RTE meat processing plant in Toronto, the company responded by launching a major and well-publicized product recall that crossed over into other food brands using product from the facility. The Toronto plant, which was shut down Aug. 20, is now in limited production.