Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Maple Leaf Foods Inc., Canada's biggest food processor, said today it will expand a recall of meat products after health officials identified a Toronto plant as the source of food poisoning that led to four deaths.

Laboratory results linked meat products from the plant with an outbreak of listeriosis in four provinces, the Public Health Agency of Canada said in a statement late yesterday.

Maple Leaf Foods, based in Toronto, temporarily closed its Bartor Road plant last week after a number of Sure Slice delicatessen meats tested positive for listeria, which can lead to fevers, severe headaches and nausea. The test results confirmed health officials' suspicions that the same strain of listeria at the plant was responsible for the outbreak.

``To those people who are ill, and to the families who have lost loved ones, I offer my deepest and sincerest sympathies,'' Maple Leaf Chief Executive Officer Michael McCain said in a statement.

Maple Leaf said today the recall will cost about C$20 million ($19.1 million) before taxes, mainly for reimbursement for returned products and to sanitize the plant. More costs may occur for advertising, communications and lost sales, it said in a statement.

Health officials said 21 cases of listeriosis have been confirmed and another 30 cases are being investigated.

Maple Leaf will expand its recall to include all products produced at the plant as a precaution, McCain said today. Last week, the food processor recalled 23 meat products after the infection was discovered.

Public Health

McCain called it the ``toughest circumstance'' in the company's 100-year history.

``This isn't about money, it's about public health,'' he told reporters today. ``It's clear that confidence in Maple Leaf and its brand has been severely shaken,'' he said. ``I hope with time we can regain the confidence of Canadian consumers.''

The expanded recall will involve more than 200 products produced by Maple Leaf, Health Minister Tony Clement said this evening in a news briefing. Clement said the number of cases of listeriosis is expected to rise because the incubation period for the bacteria can be as long as 70 days.

``This is a case where the surveillance system worked,'' he said.

Two food samples tested positive for the listeria strain linked to the outbreak while a third showed a ``slight variance'' health officials said. Further test results are expected this week as the investigation proceeds.

Brand Reputation

The recall is Maple Leaf's or its predecessor companies' first large product recall since 1998, when Schneiders Lunchmate was contaminated with salmonella in cheese provided by a supplier and 800 children became sick, Michael Van Aelst, an analyst with TD Newcrest, said in an Aug. 22 note to clients.

``Typically, these types of issues can result in little or no permanent damage to the brand reputation if dealt with pro- actively and openly,'' Van Aelst said. ``It is usually only when the company tries to cover up the problem that real and sometimes irreparable damage tends to occur.''

Maple Leaf dropped 8.4 percent since Aug. 19, a day before the company said it was expanding the recall because of possible food contamination.

The shares fell 47 cents, or 4.6 percent, at C$9.80 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Aug. 22 and have dropped 34 percent this year.

(Maple Leaf will host a conference call to discuss results at 9 a.m. New York time tomorrow. To participate via conference call, call 416-340-2216/866-898-9624.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Kevin Bell in Toronto at kbell2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 24, 2008 20:30 EDT