Food Protection Trends - September/October 2020 - 328

TABLE 7. Summary adherence of eight recommendations of the USDA FSIS retail
Listeria monocytogenes guidance by retail deli operation size and location area
Recommendation

Retail deli size:
Small
(n = 43)
n
%

Large
(n = 14)
n
%

Eliminate visibly adulterated product

39

90.7

14

Refrigerate RTE meat or poultry products
refrigerated promptly after use

35

81.4

Do not prepare, hold, or store RTE meat
or poultry products near or directly
adjacent to raw products in the deli case

22

Cover, wrap, or otherwise protect all
opened RTE

Retail deli location:
P-value

Rural
(n = 44)
n
%

Urban
(n = 13)
n
%

100.0

0.011*a

41

93.2

12

92.3

0.833

14

100.0

<0.001*

37

84.1

12

92.3

0.275

51.2

8

57.1

0.388

24

54.5

6

46.2

0.934

43

100.0

13

92.9

<0.001*

44

100.0

12

92.3

<0.001*

Ensure that sanitary conditions (no flies,
rodent droppings, mold, or dirty surfaces)
are present where RTE meat and poultry
products

31

72.1

13

92.9

<0.001*

33

75

11

84.6

0.118

Clean and sanitize equipment used to
process RTE products at least every 4 h

32

74.4

13

92.9

0.006*

32

72.7

13

100.0

<0.001*

Eliminate facility conditions in the deli
area or storage area that could cause the
products to become adulterated

37

86.0

13

92.9

0.164

39

88.6

11

84.6

0.460

Ensure that deli employees handling RTE
products wear disposable gloves

29

67.4

13

92.9

0.001*

31

70.5

11

84.6

0.155

P-value

*Significant α at < 0.05.

a

poultry products near or directly adjacent to raw products
in the deli case" recommendation, but the difference was
not significant.
DISCUSSION
Recognizing that microbial sampling was limited to zones
1 and 2, the findings of this study revealed that the slicer table
and deli case interior were three sample points in retail delis
that were positive for L. monocytogenes. Specifically, one of
these sample points (deli case interior) was located within a
small operation, and one sample point (slicer control) was
located within a large chain operation. Other studies also
reported that the meat slicers in retail deli operations were
the main areas for cross-contamination and the growth of L.
monocytogenes because slicers have a complex structure that
make them hard to clean (15, 21, 24, 33). Also, it is reported
that slicers have many components, such as blade guards and
slicer handles, which are linked by seams and seals, and due
to continued use, these seals can degrade, allowing debris

328

Food Protection Trends September/October

to become trapped in these areas over time, promoting
permissible growth conditions for L. monocytogenes (23, 34).
Listeria welshimeri was found at one retailer (D) during
the final sampling assignment. Orsi and Wiedmann (31)
suggested that the finding of other Listeria species that can
also grow at refrigerator temperatures (e.g., L. welshimeri)
maybe indicative for conditions that would also support
the growth of the pathogenic L. monocytogenes. This was
indeed the case for this retailer when during the corrective
sampling event at this facility: two different sites were
found to be positive for L. monocytogenes. In addition,
L. welshimeri and L. innocua were also isolated from two
other sites. This retailer would not have been aware of the
potential public health problem with the discovery of L.
monocytogenes, if it had not been for this environmental
monitoring project. This retailer adhered to six of the eight
FDA guidelines; the two out of adherence were preparing,
holding, and storing RTE products near raw products and
cleaning and sanitizing equipment.
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