Court approves sales of two plants owned by company linked to listeria outbreak

Signage for Joriki Beverages is seen in Toronto on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

TORONTO — An Ontario court has approved the sale of two facilities owned by the Canadian company that processed plant-based milk linked to a deadly listeria outbreak.

Court documents show Joriki is selling its Delta, B.C., plant to Happy Planet Foods and its Toronto plant to Top Shelf Food and Beverage Corp.

Joriki is also in the process of liquidating the Pickering, Ont., plant where the outbreak occurred.

The company was granted court protection from its creditors after financial challenges stemming in part from the recalls of several plant-based milks under the Silk and Great Value brands it manufactured.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the Pickering plant was the source of a listeria outbreak that infected at least 20 people and led to three deaths between August 2023 and July 2024.

After that announcement, some Joriki customers suspended production at the Pickering facility and it was idled, while the facility’s two largest customers pulled out of the plant, said chief financial officer Michael Devon in an affidavit as part of the company’s application for CCAA protection.

Some customers paused production at the Delta location while the largest customer at the Toronto facility decided to terminate its contract, he said.

Joriki ceased business operations and laid off almost all of its approximately 565 full-time and temporary employees at the end of 2024. About 337 of those were employed by Joriki Canada.

Joriki was founded in 1991 and expanded into B.C. in 2010, Devon said in the affidavit.

In 2022, the company began work on its U.S. production facility in Pittston, Pa. However, it had challenges with the expansion, such as delays and cost overruns, that made it more vulnerable to the financial hit caused by the listeria outbreak.

Joriki’s U.S. subsidiary filed a petition under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code earlier this year.

By Rosa Saba

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 14, 2025.