Canada says deaths tied to outbreak

Canadian public health officials said that as many as 12 deaths might be linked to an outbreak of food poisoning, and the number of cases could rise.

Eleven of the fatalities from listeriosis occurred in Ontario and one was in British Columbia, officials said. The fatalities are among 26 cases of the disease from the same strain of listeria that was identified at a Toronto plant run by Maple Leaf Foods Inc.

The company, Canada’s largest food processor, expanded a food recall Sunday to include all meat products made at the Toronto plant, which is scheduled to reopen today. Of the deaths in Ontario, listeriosis was listed as the cause or a factor in six fatalities, with the other five under investigation, officials said.