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Maple Leaf Foods faces the challenge of winning back the confidence of consumers after the reopening of a Toronto processing plant at the centre of a deadly source of food poisoning that claimed 17 lives across Canada.

Company president Michael McCain said Wednesday that it is nothing short of a tragedy that people became ill with the illness known as listeriosis from eating deli meats produced at the Maple Leaf plant.

But he vowed that his company would emerge stronger from the experience and work with government to raise the bar on food-safety standards in Canada.

“It is with mixed emotions that I speak with you today, certainly humility for what has happened, but also pride in the tenacity of our people to address the problem and move forward,” Mr. McCain said at a news conference to announce the reopening of the company's plant on Bartor Road in Toronto Wednesday afternoon.

Production at the plant will ramp up gradually, with the first lunch meats expected to be delivered to retail stores next week. Maple Leaf was forced to shut down the plant on Aug. 17 and recall nearly 200 products after the food-borne bacterium Listeria monocytogenes was found in samples of some of its meats.

As provincial health officials across Canada scrambled to determine how many people had become sick with listeriosis, staff from Maple Leaf and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency literally turned the plant upside down and dismantled equipment in an effort to find the source of the bacteria.

Mr. McCain announced on Sept. 5 that listeria contamination deep inside two meat-slicing machines at the plant was the likely cause of the outbreak.

He said Wednesday that the plant has undergone six complete sanitization cycles, well beyond regular cleaning practices, and that the two slicing machines have been completely torn down, deep cleaned and tested multiple times for bacteria.

“This plant opening marks another milestone in the journey from crisis to stability to resuming the absolute confidence of our customers in the quality and integrity of our products,” he said.

But Mr. McCain acknowledged that he and other company executives have plenty of work to do to persuade customers to begin eating Maple Leaf bologna sandwiches again, especially as the number of victims from the listeria outbreak continues to mount.

As of yesterday, 47 people in seven provinces have become ill with listeriosis linked to tainted Maple Leaf meat, including 17 who have died.

Mr. McCain said it will take time and effort to rebuild consumers' trust in the brand, which was a mainstay on grocery shelves for more than a century.

“It won't happen overnight,” he said. “It will happen one person at a time.”

Part of the answer to restoring consumer confidence is building more food safety practices into the production process, something that he said is far more important than inspecting the finished product.

While Maple Leaf plans to set higher standards voluntarily to produce safer foods, he also said he would welcome the federal government imposing more stringent rules for the industry.

Maple Leaf plans to set up an advisory council made up of the “best minds” from around the world to help the company raise the bar on food safety, Mr. McCain said.

The company is also creating the position of chief food safety officer, who will be responsible for making the company a leader in global standards for food safety.

“We found the problem,” Mr. McCain said.

“We believe we've solved that problem and I believe we have a plan in place for the future. Now our journey is about rebuilding the confidence of our consumers.”