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Listeria
Ask The Expert

Listeria – From the Ground Up. How to Identify, Find, and Eradicate the Bugger

By Bob Lijana
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Listeria

Over the coming weeks, we will share a series of six brief articles on Listeria. They are intended for food science professionals, especially food safety and quality assurance people. The information presented in these mini-articles will also be of interest to people in all functions. To that end, we have kept the language as non-technical as possible.

On roughly a biweekly basis, we will present mini-articles starting with what Listeria is, and the regulatory governance of Listeria in food from FDA and USDA. We will share background on where the organism comes from, how it can move around a food plant, and how to find it. We will share techniques on how to eradicate the pathogen. We will also share some insights on how to communicate learnings and successes, including with senior management. There will be references for further study.

Some of the information will already be known by those who have had to fight Listeria for many years, as is usually the case when this pathogen becomes your enemy. Yet that same information will be new and useful to those for whom the fight is new. These are people who are new to food manufacturing, or for whom a job in food safety and quality assurance is new.

Hence, pick and choose articles of most use to your situation as the series moves along. Yet do look at each one with a fresh pair of eyes–all of us could use a refresher in how best to manage the risk of Listeria in a plant, regardless of experience level. All plants and situations are different, so there is no “cookie-cutter” solution. If there were, we wouldn’t keep seeing recalls due to possible Listeria contamination. And we wouldn’t keep repeating history in that regard. We need to avoid complacence.

The ultimate objectives of this series are to provide suggestions of what can be done to manage food safety risks in a plant, and, at the same time, increase the company’s capability at providing safe food products and protecting public health.

See the Related Articles below to read the series.

CDC, FDA, USDA logos
Beltway Beat

FDA, USDA FSIS, CDC and States Collaborate on Outbreak Investigation of Listeria from Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo Meals

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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CDC, FDA, USDA logos

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in collaboration with state and local partners, are investigating illnesses in a multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections linked to chicken fettuccine alfredo meals. Recalled product assembled at FreshRealm, Inc.’s San Clemente, California; Montezuma, Georgia; and Indianapolis, Indiana, manufacturing locations may be adulterated with the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes.

As of June 18, 2025, a total of 17 cases have been reported from 13 states. Of the 11 people interviewed, 7 reported eating precooked meals, and 4 (57%) specifically reported eating chicken fettuccine alfredo. Of 17 people with information, 16 (94%) were hospitalized and there are 3 deaths attributed to listeriosis. There is one pregnancy associated illness in a mother that resulted in a fetal loss.

FDA has conducted a thorough investigation in response to this outbreak, including traceback of FDA-regulated ingredients within the assembled product. FDA used specific meal information reported by ill people, and collected by state officials and CDC, and firm records to trace FDA-regulated ingredients through the supply chain to the establishments where those were produced.  FSIS identified the outbreak strain in a routine sample of FreshRealm’s chicken fettuccine alfredo collected on March 19, 2025. This lot of product was not distributed into the food supply. FSIS also used purchase documentation to trace chicken fettuccine alfredo products purchased by two ill people to FreshRealm establishments. An additional two ill people verbally described chicken fettuccine alfredo products they purchased. FSIS identified products produced by FreshRealm that matched the descriptions during follow-up at the retail stores where they shopped.

FDA also initiated multiple inspections, including sample collection, at the manufacturers of some ingredients used to make the chicken fettuccine alfredo product.

Testing of the FDA-regulated ingredients collected to date is complete and the outbreak strain of Listeria was not found. FDA and FSIS have not yet determined a source of contamination for this product; however, both agencies are working closely with each other and CDC to continue to collect information to determine what additional steps are needed to protect public health.

On June 17, 2025, in response to this investigation, FreshRealm, Inc., recalled their pre-made chicken fettuccine alfredo products sold at Kroger and Walmart.

Listeria Outbreak Linked to Meats Sliced at Delis

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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The CDC website reported that there is a Listeria Outbreak Linked to Meats Sliced at Delis. Many people in this outbreak are reporting eating meats that they had sliced at deli counters. Investigators are collecting information to determine the specific products that may be contaminated. Products sold at the deli, especially those sliced or prepared at the deli, can be contaminated with Listeria. Listeria spreads easily among deli equipment, surfaces, hands and food.

As of July 19, 2024, a total of 28 people infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria have been reported from 12 states (see map). Sick people’s samples were collected from May 29, 2024, to July 5, 2024 (see timeline). Of 28 people with information available, all have been hospitalized. One person got sick during their pregnancy and remained pregnant after recovering. Two deaths have been reported, 1 in Illinois and 1 in New Jersey. The investigation is still active and there has been no recall.

Public health investigators are using the PulseNet system to identify illnesses that may be part of this outbreak. CDC PulseNet manages a national database of DNA fingerprints of bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses. USDA-FSIS is working to identify the suppliers of deli meats, sliced at deli counters, purchased by people in this outbreak.

 

Romaine Lettuce

Study Identifies Listeria Contamination Patterns in Produce Processing Facilities

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Romaine Lettuce

A two-year study on Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) contamination patterns and related sanitation programs in produce processing facilities is already uncovering valuable insights. Ana Allende, Ph.D., and her team from the CEBAS-CSIC research institute in Spain, are hoping that their research, funded by the Center for Produce Safety, will yield practical data about produce facilities’ environmental monitoring plans as well as the efficacy of sanitation programs.

The researchers worked with three processing plants: one with a cut iceberg lettuce line, one with a cut fruit line, and one with a salad bowl line. Their first objective was to understand how different factors such as zoning, sanitary design, and connectivity affected the probability of contamination in different fresh produce processing facilities. In the case of salad bowls, the ingredients included not only leafy greens and other vegetables but also proteins from meat, fish and cheese, or pastas from different sources.

The researchers divided the processing areas into three zones based on their proximity to contact with the produce. Zone 1 involved areas with direct contact, such as knives and conveyor belts. Zone 2 included surfaces that did not contact food but were in close proximity, and zone 3 included more remote non-contact surfaces, such as drains, floors, and ceilings that could potentially lead to contaminating zones 1 and 2.

They conducted systematic sampling of the facilities at the end of the day before cleaning and sanitizing. They also resampled the three processing lines after the cleaning and disinfection activities. In addition to the more than 600 total samples from the three zones, the researchers collected 45 samples from raw ingredients and end products.

“By sampling the processing plants before and after cleaning and disinfection, we could understand which might be the entry points of the contamination,” said Allende.

Regardless of the facility, they had the highest number of positive Lm samples from zone 3. “One of the hypotheses we had was the raw material was introducing much of the Listeria,” said Allende. “This was before we did sampling and the whole genome sequencing to understand the isolates and that they were not all coming from the raw material. Some of the contamination was probably coming from zone 3 in the different processing facilities.”

The researchers also conducted whole genome sequencing on 100 samples to better understand whether the Lm was transient or persistent. What surprised them was that the same two serotypes of L. monocytogenes were found on the three processing lines after the two samplings, before and after cleaning. “This makes us understand that these serotypes are inherent and are moving from zone 3 to zone 1,” said Allende.

As part of the project, the researchers also evaluated the efficacy of biocides against resident Lm isolates. “We found, indeed, all of the isolates obtained from the environment after cleaning were sensitive to the biocides,” said Allende. This allayed concerns that the pathogens were becoming resistant to the sanitizers.

While the research aimed to provide relevant results for the three cooperating produce processors, it also has broader implications for the produce industry about how they should conduct environmental monitoring including sampling after processing just before cleaning. In addition, it should help processors better understand the main contamination points in zone 1 and how they relate to identical or similar Lm sequence types in zones 2 and 3.

Vulto Creamery Cheese

Vulto Creamery Owner Pleads Guilty in Connection with Raw Milk Listeria Outbreak

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Vulto Creamery Cheese

Johannes Vulto, a former raw milk cheese manufacturer and his company, Vulto Creamery LLC, pleaded guilty to charges related to cheese that was linked to a 2016-2017 outbreak of listeriosis, the U.S. Department of Justic announced earlier this month.

Vulto and Vulto Creamery LLC, each pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of causing the introduction of adulterated food into interstate commerce. Vulto oversaw operations at Vulto Creamery manufacturing facility in Walton, New York, including those relating to sanitation and environmental monitoring. In pleading guilty, Vulto and Vulto Creamery admitted that between December 2014 and March 2017, they caused the shipment in interstate commerce of adulterated cheese.

According to the plea agreement, environmental swabs taken at the Vulto Creamery facility between approximately July 2014 and February 2017 repeatedly tested positive for Listeria species. In March 2017, after the FDA linked Vulto Creamery’s cheese to an outbreak of listeriosis, Vulto shut down the Vulto Creamery facility and issued a partial recall that was expanded to a full recall within weeks. According to the CDC, the listeriosis outbreak resulted in eight hospitalizations and two deaths.

During a 2017 FDA inspection of the facility, the inspector noted that in the 20 months from 7/28/2014 through 2/19/ 2017, the facility’s records revealed that 54 out of 198 swabs taken from throughout the facility tested positive for Listeria spp. The report also cited several potential causes of the contamination including: storage of sanitized wood boards used to age cheese in the facility attic, where they were exposed to insulation, debris and moisture; failure to maintain building, fixtures and other physical facilities in a sanitary condition; and employees putting their bare hands and arms, up to their elbows, directly into the cheese making vat to manually break up cheese curds. “Although you washed your hands, neither of you washed your lower or upper arms,” the inspector wrote.

“It is crucial that American consumers be able to trust that the foods they buy are safe to eat,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to hold responsible food manufacturers that sell dangerously contaminated products.”

Vulto faces a maximum sentence of up to one year in prison, a term of supervised release up to one year and a fine up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for July 9, 2024.

 

 

 

Bill Marler

Marler Clark Launches Investigation into Deadly Listeria Cheese Outbreak

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Bill Marler

Marler Clark, Inc., The Food Safety Law Firm, is investigating the Rizo Lopez Foods cheese Listeria outbreak that has sickened 26 people in 11 states, including deaths in California and Texas.

According to the CDC and FDA, as of February 12, 2024, a total of 26 people infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria have been reported from 11 states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. Two deaths have been reported, one from California and one from Texas. The FDA and CDC, in collaboration with state and local partners, have linked this multi-year, multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections linked to queso fresco and cotija cheeses manufactured by Rizo Lopez Foods, Inc., of Modesto, California. This outbreak includes cases dating back to 2014 and is currently ongoing. CDC investigated this outbreak in 2017 and 2021.

A sample of Rizo Bros Aged Cotija tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes during sampling conducted by the Hawaii State Department of Health’s Food and Drug Branch in January 2024. In response to that finding, Rizo Lopez Foods voluntarily recalled one batch of Rizo Bros Aged Cotija Mexican Grating Cheese (8oz) on January 11, 2024. CDC and FDA reopened the investigation in January 2024 after new illnesses were reported in December 2023 and whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis of the cotija cheese sample showed that it is the same strain of Listeria that is causing illnesses in this outbreak. FDA initiated an on-site inspection at Rizo Lopez Foods. FDA’s inspection is still ongoing; however, an environmental sample collected during that inspection tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. WGS analysis of that sample showed that it is the same strain of Listeria that is causing illnesses in this outbreak.

In response to this investigation, Rizo Lopez Foods has recalled all sell by dates of its dairy products. The recalled products include cheese, yogurt, and sour cream sold under the brand names Bright Farms, Campesino, Casa Cardenas, Dole, Don Francisco, Don Pancho, Dos Ranchitos, El Huache, Food City, Fresh Express, H-E-B, La Ordena, Marketside, President’s Choice, Ready Pac Bistro, Rio Grande, Rizo Bros, Rojos, San Carlos, Santa Maria, Tio Francisco, Trader Joe’s, and 365 Whole Foods Market. The firm has temporarily ceased the production and distribution of these products.

In addition, the USDA has issued a public health alert for meat and poultry products containing Rizo Lopes Foods dairy products that may be contaminated.

“In the U.S. there are an estimated 255 deaths due to Listeria monocytogenes every year, and a case fatality rate of 15-30%. Due to the fatality rate and severe complications, Listeria is a pathogen of significant public health concern,” said William Marler of Marler Clark. “Companies that manufacture high risk foods need to do a far better job at eliminating the risk of a resident Listeria bacteria.”

In 2011, Marler Clark represented the families of 33 people who died after consuming Listeria tainted cantaloupe. In 2023, Marler Clark was profiled in the Netflix documentary “Poisoned.”

Image: William “Bill” Marler

FDA Logo

FDA Releases Outcomes of Refrigerated Dips and Spreads Sampling Program

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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FDA Logo

The FDA has released the results of a March 2021-January 2022 routine sampling program of ready-to-eat (RTE) refrigerated dips and spreads to test for Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp.

The goal of the testing program—launched as part of the FDA’s risk-based approach to food safety, as outlined in the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)—is to identify common factors or patterns related to the contamination of RTE dips and spreads. The data collected helps the FDA develop guidance and update program priorities, including sampling assignments and the prioritization of surveillance inspections.

Out of the 747 samples, four were detected to have a human pathogen.

Pathogen Findings: Salmonella

The agency detected Salmonella Havana in one hummus sample collected from a retail establishment in Kingsburg, California. The FDA performed Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) analysis on the organism and determined that it did not match any known human illnesses and was not linked to any other product or environmental samples.

Pathogen Findings: Listeria monocytogenes

The FDA detected Listeria monocytogenes in three dips and spreads samples—two cheese samples, one cheese and pepper sample—collected from a retail establishment in Colorado Springs, Colorado. All three of the samples were produced by the same manufacturer. WGS analysis on the organisms determined they did not match any known human illnesses and were not linked to any other product or environmental samples.

The agency also detected two subspecies (i.e., Listeria welshimeri, Listeria innocua) of non-pathogenic Listeria spp. in three samples—two collected from retail establishments and one from the manufacturer/processor. Since these samples were non-pathogenic, they were not analyzed by WGS.

The agency noted that the findings suggest that Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes were not widespread in the multi-commodity RTE dips and spreads collected nationwide, though it cautioned against making inferences more broadly about the contamination or potential for contamination of RTE dips and spreads based solely on this testing assignment’s findings. “The presence of contamination in the samples suggests the risk of contamination still exists. For example, from FY2017 through FY2022, there were a total of 22 recalls of dips and spreads due to potential Salmonella or L. monocytogenes contamination; of these hummus and cheese dips and spreads make up 64% of the recalls (10 hummus recalls, 4 cheese dips and spread recalls),” the agency stated.

 

 

Ana Allende
Food Genomics

Listeria Contamination Patterns in Produce Processors

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Ana Allende

A study published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (May 2023) looked at Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) contamination patterns in three produce processing facilities—one with a cut iceberg lettuce line, one with a cut fruit line and one with a salad bowl line. Lead author Ana Allende, Ph.D., and her team from the CEBAS-CSIC research institute in Spain also tested biocides against resident Lm populations to gauge efficacy and potential loss of sensitivity.

The two-year project was designed to yield practical data about produce facilities’ environmental monitoring plans as well as the efficacy of sanitation programs.

Their first objective was to understand how different factors such as zoning, sanitary design and connectivity affected the probability of contamination in different fresh produce processing facilities. In the case of salad bowls, the ingredients included not only leafy greens and other vegetables but also proteins from meat, fish and cheese, or pastas from different sources.

The researchers divided the processing areas into three zones based on their proximity to contact with the produce. Zone 1 involved areas with direct contact, such as knives and conveyor belts. Zone 2 included surfaces that did not contact food but were in close proximity. Zone 3 included more remote noncontact surfaces, such as drains, floors and ceilings, that could potentially lead to contaminating zones 1 and 2.

The researchers conducted systematic sampling of the facilities at the end of the day before cleaning and sanitizing. They also resampled the three processing lines after the cleaning and disinfection activities. In addition to the more than 600 total samples from the three zones, the researchers collected 45 samples from raw ingredients and end products.

Findings

Regardless of the facility, the highest number of positive Lm samples came from Zone 3. Whole genome sequencing revealed that the same two serotypes of Lm were found on the three processing lines after the two samplings, before and after cleaning.

“This makes us understand that these serotypes are inherent and are moving from zone 3 to zone 1,” said Allende.

When evaluating the efficacy of biocides against resident Lm isolates, “we found, indeed, all of the isolates obtained from the environment after cleaning were sensitive to the biocides,” she said.

While the research aimed to provide relevant results for the three cooperating produce processors, it also has broader implications for the produce industry about how they should conduct environmental monitoring including sampling after processing just before cleaning, Allende said. In addition, it should help processors better understand the main contamination points in zone 1 and how they relate to identical or similar Lm sequence types in zones 2 and 3.

“One of the hypotheses we had was the raw material was introducing much of the Listeria,” she said. “This was before we did sampling and the whole genome sequencing to understand the isolates and that they were not all coming from the raw material. Some of the contamination was probably coming from zone 3 in the different processing facilities.”

Image: Ana Allende, Ph.D.

Ben Pascal

bioMérieux Expands xPRO and Predictive Diagnostics Innovation Programs

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Ben Pascal

In vitro diagnostics provider bioMérieux recently announced its plans to open a new, 32,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art molecular innovation center at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia. The new site will house the company’s xPRO Program, as well as the company’s Predictive Diagnostics Innovation Center.

The xPRO Program was created to speed development of advanced molecular diagnostics for food quality and safety departments in the food and beverage, nutraceutical and cannabis indsutries.

We spoke with Ben Pascal, head of xPRO at bioMérieux, about the program as well as the challenges and recent advances in the development of molecular assays and predictive diagnostics.

What is the xPro program?

Pascal: xPRO is an entrepreneurial engine for bioMérieux. We have had tremendous success with the molecular assays we’ve built over the years here, and we want to continue to invest in that innovation both in terms of the way we develop these assays, the speed with which we bring them to market, and we want to expand the partnerships that we’ve built with industry. All of these efforts are bolstered through the xPRO program and team.

What are some of the challenges in developing the molecular assays?

Pascal: In the clinical micro sector, you’ve got blood, saliva, and urine, and they are pretty uniform between everyone. When you come to the industrial micro sector, where you’re working with lettuce one day, ground beef the next and then nutraceuticals or spices, it is far more challenging to build a diagnostic that can work across all those matrices.

The challenge is how to create something that is compatible in multiple sectors, is faster and will deliver value over and over in a routine quality testing lab. Experience is crucial. Our team in Philadelphia has built and commercialized more than 30 molecular diagnostics, so we had the opportunity to put together a toolkit, if you will, to help us get through challenging matrices and speed things along with regards to recovery of target organisms.

When you talk about predictive diagnostics, is this related to gaining a better understanding of which pathogens are most likely to cause illness and at what levels?

Pascal: You do have these pathogens, but there’s a whole other concern related to spoilage. Day to day in the food and beverage sector, it’s spoilage that’s affecting quality and your brand reputation and causing recalls.

When it comes to pathogens that can cause foodborne illnesses, one cell is typically the law of the land. But when we say predictive diagnostics, we are isolating unique genes that are 100% predictive of spoilage. We know there are certain organisms that cause spoilage, but not all organisms that spoil are created equal. So what we try to tease out through our genomic and predictive diagnostic center is which unique genes allow one bug within the same species to cause spoilage, while another does not.

Traditionally, a quality director on the floor will say, I have this organism. It might spoil it might not. We’re taking the risk out of the equation. If you have a potential spoilage organism and you know that it has the specific genes that create spoilage, you can make more informed decisions on what you’re going to do with your product in terms of releasing it or remediating it.

For example, in brewing there is a yeast called saccharomyces cerevisiae that is often used. And there is a variant of saccharomyces cerevisiae that has some genes that allow it to use up residual starches in the product to produce gas, which causes the cans to swell and burst.

The problem is, you can’t tell from a culture plate whether your saccharomyces cerevisiae has this variant diastaticus or not—and not all diastaticus will go on to chew up those residual starches as an energy source and produce gas. We’ve identified a unique set of genes, and every time those genes are there, that diastaticus will go on to produce gas and create quality issues. That’s what we refer to as predictive diagnostics.

When you talk about rapid diagnostic testing, can these tests be performed in the food or beverage facility?

Pascal: Yes, they take our equipment and utilize it at their site, whether that be a third party laboratory, the production site of a brewery, a food processing facility or a nutraceutical manufacturer. We manufacture the equipment and the reagents that we’ve developed, and we put that into a test kit that customers can purchase after we’ve installed the equipment at their production site.

Are there any specific food areas that you’re focusing on now?

Pascal: Some of our key focuses relate to beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. We do quite a lot in nutraceuticals. We do quite a bit of work in cannabis, and in food safety, we’re focused on changing the game with regards to environmental monitoring. With environmental monitoring you’re looking for specific pathogens with the theory being, if you can control your environment, you can control what gets into your food products.

You’re typically looking for one of two pathogens: salmonella or listeria. We said, why not do them both together? And we created a universal medium. By providing specific data points for both pathogens within a single test, it can detect and enrich both salmonella and listeria from the environmental swab.

In all the work we do, our partnerships with industry are very important. The way that we build our pipeline is directly through partnerships with industry, which informs us on their key challenges as well as better ways to make tools. So, when we come out with a new tool, our goal is to not only meet the needs of our partner but meet or exceed the needs of their peers in the industry as well.

 

Stacy Vernon

Lessons Learned from Listeria Recalls

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Stacy Vernon

Listeria monocytogenes continues to be a key factor in food recalls. While it is not the most common pathogen behind foodborne illness, it does have a high mortality rate. Listeria is hearty. It thrives in cold, moist environments, can grow under refrigeration temperatures and is salt tolerant. The risk of listeria contamination can be reduced through stringent sanitation, and environmental monitoring and testing. But far too often, it takes an outbreak or recall for companies to truly understand the efforts needed to find and destroy it in their facilities.

At Food Safety Tech’s Hazards Conference in Columbus, Ohio, in April, Stacy Vernon, Food Safety Operations and Program Manager at CIFT, an Ohio Manufacturing Partner, shared lessons learned from food companies that have experienced Listeria in their facilities and resulting product recalls.

Lesson Learned: Regulatory Requirements

The regulatory requirements related control of listeria monocytogenes can be found at USDA 9 CFR Part 430.4 and FDA 21 CFR Part 117. Both agencies offer guidance documents that serve as valuable resources that food companies can use to build their food safety programs:

USDA FSIS: FSIS-GD-2014-0001 “Controlling Listeria monocytogenes in Post-lethality Exposed Ready-to-Eat Meat and Poultry Products”

FDA: FDA-2008-D-0096 “Control of Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat Foods”

“The question is, are your people reading these? Are they aware they exist?” asked Vernon. “In speaking with companies who have gone through recalls, many were not even aware these guidance documents existed or were not utilizing them.”

Lesson Learned: Sanitation Program Shortcomings

“Sanitation is the No. 1 program that you need to have on point,” said Vernon. “Unfortunately, labor shortages and turnover have made this a big challenge in recent years.”

Issues that companies uncovered following recalls include:

  • A lack of understanding of the difference between cleaning and sanitizing
  • Sanitation teams not given enough time to properly sanitize equipment
  • Lack of easy access to the tools needed to sanitize properly
  • Lack of training on or understanding of the seven steps of sanitation
  • Lack of training on what biofilms are and how to detect them

“Sanitation teams tend to be small, and they need to be everywhere,” said Vernon. “Are you looking at their foot traffic? Your sanitation team should get, at least, general training on food safety and pathogens. Make sure this department is not overlooked because they do pose one of the highest risks of cross contamination.”

Lesson Learned: Poor Sanitary Design

Companies cited similar shortcomings in sanitary design. Vernon recommended that companies implement the following practices, if they are not currently following them:

  • Involve your food safety professionals in the purchase of new equipment
  • If purchasing used equipment, make sure that it has been maintained
  • Google “Sanitary Design Checklist.” These free downloads are available from the American Meat Institute, U.S. Dairy and other organizations and are great resources
  • Look for facility and equipment design flaws, such as cracks or separations in the floor, exposed threads, hallow pipes not sealed, bad welds, and water/product accumulation points

“Drain maintenance is also key. One company uses a snake to swab their drains, so they know if they have listeria before it works its way back up into the facility,” said Vernon.

Lesson Learned: Poor Environmental Monitoring Programs

The goals of an environmental monitoring program (EMP) is to aggressively seek and destroy pathogens. “You need to know where listeria is entering the facility, where it harbors and how it moves in your facility so you can effectively eradicate it,” said Vernon. “There is still a mentality that people are scared to find it, so they swab the safest areas. We need to change that mindset to ‘I want to find it and I want to eliminate it.’”

EMPs need to be tailored to your specific facility. Some of the issues companies found with their EMPs following recalls included a lack of internal knowledge to build a comprehensive and custom program and failure to swab properly. “Ask yourself, who is responsible for setting up our EMP and can they do it alone, or do we need outside expertise?” said Vernon.

When swabbing, you need to apply pressure and seek out hard to reach areas. When determining which zones to swab, consider the following:

  • Your risk assessment and hazard analysis
  • Previous environmental monitoring data collected
  • Visual appearance of surface
  • Products produced and intended users
  • Potential for growth after packaging

“Focus on areas where RTE products are exposed. Companies often do not want to swab Zone 1, but one company that went through a recall has implemented swabbing in Zone 1 while they are sampling their products,” said Vernon. “Their reasoning is, the products are already on hold and if they have to throw one shift of product away, it costs much less than a recall or outbreak.”

Lesson Learned: Lack of Employee Knowledge

Several of the companies Vernon spoke with found that they had inadequate food safety and pathogen training and knowledge at all levels; and that they did not have a good sense of employee traffic flow and habits. “When is the last time you stepped back to evaluate traffic flow in your facility?” asked Vernon. “Companies that took the time to evaluate traffic flow and employee practices were often surprised that they did not understand their employees’ movement within the facility or work habits.”

Key areas to investigate include:

  • How do employees and product move through your facility?
  • What is your footwear policy?
  • Are employees following appropriate GMPs for handwashing, PPE, product handling, etc.?
  • Are sanitation employees cleaning properly?

“Changing employee practices doesn’t take a lot of capital,” said Vernon. “It is one of the cheapest ways to mitigate risk.”

Lesson Learned: Not Reassessing Programs

EMP and sanitation programs should be reassessed when findings occur or changes happen in the facility, including anytime you bring in new equipment. “Start with a document review and then reassessment of your environmental monitoring program,” said Vernon.