This guidance document provides specific actions that retailers can take in the delicatessen (deli) area to decrease the potential for Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) growth or cross-contamination. In particular, the guidance covers:
- Actions identified by the Interagency Retail Lm Risk Assessment (see page 2) that can decrease the predicted risk of listeriosis from deli products;
- Information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Code, scientific literature, other guidance documents, and lessons learned from meat and poultry establishments that retailers can use to control Lm;
- Steps retailers can take to help ensure that deli products are maintained under sanitary conditions that do not allow Lm adulteration of the product; and
- A self-assessment tool that retailers can use to determine what practices they are currently using and what new practices to adopt to control Lm.
FoodWorld 