instore - July 2017 - COMM - 10

Food Safety:

Detecting, eliminating
Listeria
by Bernard Shire

mmissaries and central kitchens
can take a note from the meat
and poultry industry, which has
had greater success in fighting the Listeria pathogen in its products than other
sectors of the food industry Even with
their success, poultry and meat processors are resting on their laurels when
it comes to controlling Listeria. If anything, they're taking even more steps to
stop the pathogen from contaminating
plants, equipment and products.

Listeria monocytogenes can be underestimated. Symptoms can include
diarrhea, nausea or other gastrointestinal problems. But if the pathogen gets into people's blood and they
contract Listeriosis, 20 percent of
people will die, compared to a much
more common pathogen, Salmonella,
which kills less than 1 percent of people who get sick. Listeria causes the
highest mortality rate of the major
foodborne pathogens.

The other threat from Listeria is that
people who are most susceptible are
least able to fight it off: people aged
65 or older, pregnant women, newborn
children and individuals who suffer
from weakened immune systems.
Six years ago, 147 people suffered Listeria infections from cantaloupes and
33 people died. Last year, there was a
multi-state outbreak of Listeriosis tied
to frozen vegetables. The people who
got sick ranged in age from 56 to 91.
Meat and poultry don't get off the hook.
Deli meats and poultry are most susceptible to Listeria contamination. Other
products vulnerable to Listeria are
foods that consumers don't cook, such
as produce, sprouts and soft cheeses.
"But thanks to the steps we've taken in
the meat and poultry industry, we seem
to have had more success in preventing Listeria," says Michael Doyle, PhD,
director of the University of Georgia's
Center for Food Safety, and Regents
Professor of Food Microbiology at UGA.
But that's not to say industry is letting
down its guard - it can't. The Global
Food Safety Initiative held its food safety conference at the end of February
and beginning of March. Listeria was a
major topic of discussion. And in April,
the North American Meat Institute held
one of its semi-annual Advanced Listeria monocytogenes Intervention and
Control Workshops in Kansas City.
John Butts PhD, vice-president of research at Land O'Frost Inc. and president of Food Safety by Design LLC, a
consulting firm, who spoke at the GFSI
meeting, voiced his concerns about the
increasing presence of Listeria in food
products. An important thrust of the
conference was how to deal with the
pathogen, and how to detect and prevent it in meat and poultry.
Butts says Listeria monocytogenes
(Lm) control is an increasing globalwide challenge.

'Seek and destroy'
DELI MEATS AND POULTRY ARE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE TO LISTERIA CONTAMINATION.
PHOTO: ©GGW FOTOLIA EVGENIY-STOCK.ADOBE.COM

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While some areas of industry have already addressed the pathogen, using

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of instore - July 2017