There are seven more deaths under active investigation in Canada that may soon be added to the list of 12 confirmed dead due to Maple Leaf Foods selling "ready-to-eat" meat contaminated with listeria.

The Ottawa Citizen reports:

A potentially deadly bacterium outbreak that has been linked to 12 deaths in Canada has prompted China to be the latest country to put a halt on all Maple Leaf Foods meat imports, according to a spokesman from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Monday.

Public health officials confirmed Monday at a news conference that the latest death from the listeria outbreak occurred in Ontario. No details on the victim were given.

Seven more deaths - five in Ontario, one in Saskatchewan and one in Quebec - are still under investigation by the Public Health Agency of Canada to determine if they were a result from the same strain of Listeria monocytogenes.

For more on the ongoing outbreak in Canada, go here.