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Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Internet searches preceded announcement of outbreak

Monday, May 4, 2009

According to the Calgary Herald, the listeriosis outbreak at Maple Leaf Foods might have been predicted in advance by noticing the number of Internet searches regarding the disease.

An article published in March in the Canadian Medical Association Journal says that the Internet is revolutionizing how intelligence about new and ongoing outbreaks of infectious diseased is gathered.

Researchers from the University of Ottawa and the Harvard Medical School found that searches for the term "listeriosis" spiked nearly a month before the public declaration of the outbreak and media reports about the disease.

An outbreak linked to contamination at a Maple Leaf processing plant in Toronto led to the largest food recall in Canadian history last summer. As many as 20 people died before officials announced the outbreak.

Unfortunately, the number of website "hits" isn't an indication of where the outbreak is taking place. BF
 

Current Issue

December 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Ontario Opens First Soymilk Powder Plant

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

Ontario is celebrating a major step forward in agri-food innovation with a nearly $24 million investment by Alinova Canada Inc. to build the country’s first non-GMO soymilk powder processing plant. The new facility, located in Morrisburg, will create 15 good-paying jobs and strengthen the... Read this article online

New marketing board possible for Ont. agriculture

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Ontario’s dairy goat industry could have its own marketing board. If approved, the marketing board would focus on four pillars, said Lindsay Dykeman, general manager of the Ontario Dairy Goat Co-operative. “Those pillars are advocacy, business risk management, research and education,... Read this article online

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