Recent cases of listeria in food ranging from frozen vegetables to ice cream bars have reinforced the need for better methods of gauging the risk of foodborne pathogen contamination in processing plants. Researchers at the South Dakota State University Department of Dairy and Food Science are responding to the industry’s need for a more comprehensive approach in Listeria risk-assessment.
Food safety protocols and standards are well established, but Listeria contamination has been recently traced to niches in the food processing environment that harbor the bacteria, according to dairy science professor Sanjeev Anand. For instance, Listeria contamination in one commercial ice cream plant was traced to bacteria on the spout of an ice cream freezer.
Each year, an estimated 1,600 Americans become ill due to eating foods contaminated with Listeria — it’s the third-leading cause of death from foodborne illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Listeria poses the greatest danger to children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.
FoodWorld 