Another food scare in North America as syringe parts found in meat factory

In the latest food scare to hit North America, police have been called in to investigate the discovery of syringe casings at a Canadian meat packer's facilities.

The casings which contained trace amounts of a salt solution, were found on Friday inside a ham at the Maple Leaf plant in Kitchener, in southwestern Ontario.

As a result consumers are being warned about certain Maple Leaf Foods meat products and the company has issued a joint statement with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

Police say the discovery is the third to be reported by employees in the space of two weeks and the casings found are very similar to those used to administer medication or cleanse a wound.

The CFIA was informed about the investigation on Sunday night and say some products have already thought to have entered the market.

According to Maple Leaf spokeswoman Linda Smith no needles were found along with any of the casings.

The police are particularly interested in activity at the plant on October 24 and November 2 and 3, as on each of those dates, an employee reported finding a plastic medical syringe.

Forensic investigators have carried out a thorough inspection of the entire processing and manufacturing process at the plant, but say the investigation is very complex because of the size of the company.

Maple Leaf Foods and the agency are warning people away from some nationally distributed products, a comprehensive list of which can be found here.