Canwest News Service has revealed that Canadian Food Inspection Agency has banned Siena Foods Ltd. from exporting meat to the United States. The company has been allowed to continue producing meat for Canada.

The company’s delisting is a result of an ongoing investigation of listeriosis cases that were caused by the company’s meat.

The prosciutto under the brand name of Siena, was a definitive match to two severe cases of listeriosis in Ontario. This was confirmed by the Public Health Officer last week. Siena salami was also connected to non- fatal cases of listeriosis in December.

The CFIA has authority to defer an operator's license and immediately shut down production. This protocol was established after the deadly Maple Leaf epidemic in 2008. CFIA now frequently performs product sample tests for Listeria contamination. The products are only released in the market if they test negative for the contamination.

In this particular case, the Agency opted to allow the plant to operate under a heightened regime of inspection and "hold and test policy”. The company was allowed to market its product domestically. However, under these circumstances, Siena Foods Ltd. has voluntarily decided to suspend production.

A spokesman for the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service said, "CFIA requested that we delist the plant".