Maple Leaf Chief Executive Michael McCain has called the nationwide outbreak linked to the company’s Toronto meat plant the biggest crisis in the company’s 100-year history. Earlier this week health authorities announced a massive recall of meat contaminated with the listeria bacterium. The meat belonged to Canadian company Maple Leaf Foods Inc. The source of the outbreak was the meat tainted with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes processed at the Maple Leaf’s plant in Toronto.

So far there have been reported 29 cases of listeriosis, including 15 deaths linked to tainted meat from a Maple Leaf Foods meat-packing plant in Toronto, the Public Health Agency of Canada said. Another 30 cases in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec are under investigation.

The Regina-based Merchant Law Group, which specializes in class-actions suits, filed four separate lawsuits against Maple Leaf Foods over its tainted meat which has caused the death of 15 people. The law firm filed the lawsuits in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. The lawsuit involves people who have suffered illness, death, mental distress or financial losses as a result of the tainted meat and recall.

Listeriosis is extremely dangerous for infants, the elderly, pregnant women and people with a weak immune system. The symptoms include fever, headaches, diarrhea, nausea, stiff neck, loss of balance and convulsions, in addition to the more dangerous attacks on the central nervous system and neonatal infections.

The meat recall and plant clean-up is expected to cost the company more than $20 million. Maple Leaf shares have lost a quarter of their value since the recall was announced last week.