Sudbury vegan bakery pivots after recall of plant-based beverages due to listeria

A vegan bakery in Sudbury says there is little health risk to anyone who consumed baked goods they made with now-recalled plant-based beverages.

On July 8, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled Silk and Great Value plant-based beverages due to listeria contamination.

Five people in Ontario have been hospitalized after consuming the tainted products. Nine cases have been identified in total.

Beard's bakery owner, Jess Nadel, said her baked goods are made without dairy and eggs and she relies on unsweetened coconut milk in many of her recipes.

Nadel says she had to act quickly when the recall was announced, although she found it hard to get information initially.

"It was a little unsettling to hear for sure," she said. "We usually hear about these recalls that would affect meat and dairy, which is understandable because there are a lot of pathogens in those products, or sometimes crossing over into produce. This is the first time that we've experienced something that affected us directly with a recall."

She said she switched to a new supplier of oat milk to use as a substitute to coconut and was able to keep her doors open without interruption.

As for anyone who may have consumed baked goods made with the beverages before they were recalled, Nadel said there is little to no risk of contracting listeriosis.

She says public health told her that the bacteria is killed at temperatures exceeding 66 C or about 125 F and baked goods undergo far higher temperatures.

She said she was told no one in northern Ontario had become sick.

Still, she said she threw out all products that may have contained the contaminated beverages when she learned of the recall.

She said it was too bad about the waste but has become adept at managing supply chain issues especially since the pandemic began.

"It was a little bit of a hassle this week, but it's sort of the new norm," she said. "When we run into something like this, we just have to take it and run with it and solve the problem."

Nadel said she will go back to using her brand of coconut milk when it's approved and safe.

Consumers can check the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's website for more information and a complete list of recalled beverages.