Food Safety Magazine - June/July 2013

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SANITATION By Ewen C. D. Todd, Ph.D. The Burden of Listeriosis Taking a closer look at the food safety risks associated with Listeria monocytogenes Listeria monocytogenes is estimated to cause nearly 1,600 illnesses each year in the United States and is responsible for more than 1,400 hospitalizations and 250 deaths. 1 Nearly all cases of Listeria infections (listeriosis) result from persons eating food contaminated with L. monocytogenes or affect newborn infants whose mothers eat contaminated food during pregnancy. Rates of listeriosis per 100,000 individuals are relatively consistent across nations that report; estimates for cases of the febrile gastrointestinal form of the disease are rarely considered, even though a few outbreaks have been reported. 2 Outbreaks from L. monocytogenes are not frequent compared with those caused by pathogens like Salmonella and Clostridium perfringens, but they often generate national or even international notoriety. This is because: 1) the resultant infections are serious, with hospitalizations and deaths; 2) they are often caused by lack of management oversight in manufacturing plants, lack of understanding of the nature of the pathogen or where errors by workers have been allowed to repeatedly occur; 3) these plants are then found to be typically out of compliance with existing regulations; and 4) the outbreaks have major economic consequences, especially if the products affect international trade. Outbreaks have involved a whole range of facilities, from small artisanal operations to well-established major processors. The implicated foods are typically deli meats and artisanal cheeses. However, case-control studies in the U.S. have implicated melons and hummus, and in 2011, a large outbreak associated with contaminated cantaloupes causing 147 cases and 33 deaths reinforced a risk of listeriosis from consuming produce items. Most listeriosis outbreaks have been reported from Europe, the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, but the pathogen is likely causing illnesses in many other nations that do not investigate cases, which are mainly sporadic. Even in the U.S., where listeriosis is nationally notifiable, it is believed that many cases are not recognized and reported. The fact that contaminated ready-to-eat (RTE) food is responsible for almost all illnesses—and the organism surprises us in the range of food it can contaminate in numbers large enough to cause outbreaks—has forced both government and the food industry to make a major effort to reduce the public’s exposure to the pathogen. Characteristics of Listeria monocytogenes Among pathogens, L. monocytogenes has distinctive characteristics that must be recognized before implementing prevention and control strategies applied to the food processing and food preparation environments. These include the extensive occurrence of the pathogen in the natural environment. Listeria spp., including L. monocytogenes, are present in soil, water, sewage, vegetation and wild animal feces, as well as on the farm and in food processing facilities. 3 Farm animals can be asymptomatic or cause encephalitis, septicemia and abortions, and may be a source of L. monocytogenes on the farm. The pathogen can survive and grow at a wide range of temperatures (-1 to 45 °C); for instance, it can be a long-term resident in chilled food processing premises under high humidity, but it can also survive conditions of low water activity, such as under high salt concentrations. 4 Some strains can survive for long times under adverse environmental conditions and persist in niches in food processing equipment and associated drains, walls and 28 F o o d S a f e t y M a g a z i n e
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Page 4 and 5: June/July 2013 Vol. 19, No. 3 FEATU
Page 6 and 7: Editor’s Letter Taking Care of Yo
Page 8 and 9: News Bites FSIS Updates Directive o
Page 10 and 11: Steve Taylor, Ph.D., Receives Food
Page 12 and 13: MICROBIAL TESTING By Tom Weschler C
Page 14 and 15: MICROBIAL TESTING 200 0 418.2 461.6
Page 16 and 17: Process control By Richard F. Stier
Page 18 and 19: Process control MANAGEMENT COMMITME
Page 20 and 21: Process control list. This allows t
Page 22 and 23: Testing By Joseph L. Baumert, Ph.D.
Page 24 and 25: Testing are not well suited to rout
Page 26 and 27: genetically modified foods By Mauri
Page 30 and 31: SANITATION ceilings; the main reaso
Page 32 and 33: SANITATION floors and knife racks)
Page 34 and 35: SANITATION remained unchanged at 0.
Page 36 and 37: Creating a Culture By Geoff Schaadt
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Page 40: Changing Culture Anyone who gives c
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Page 46 and 47: MEAT By Emily Meredith and Christop
Page 48 and 49: MeAT Safety.” Although the articl
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Page 53 and 54: as little as 22 hrs.
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Page 57 and 58: REGULATIONS uled and held a series
Page 59 and 60: HACCP Management. Redefined. The ne
Page 61 and 62: PRODUCE the Harmonized Standards fi
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Page 75 and 76: Advertisers Index Advanced Instrume

Food Safety Magazine - June/July 2013

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