Food Ingredient Solutions Formulating By John Williams Jr. meat&poultry@sosland.com Boiling down U.S.D.A.'s Lm. guidelines 52 I MEAT&POULTRY I August 2005 I F ollowing the first identification of human listeriosis associated with processed meat in 1989, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service and other food regulatory agencies embarked on an ambitious course to minimize Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat products. Recent F.S.I.S. directives implore R.T.E. processors to utilize sound science, intervention strategies and new technologies to control L. monocytogenes in R.T.E. products. "Compliance Guidelines to Control Listeria monocytogenes in Post-Lethality Exposed Ready-to-Eat Meat www.MEATPOULTRY.com and Poultry Products," an extensive document released by the F.S.I.S. late last year, provides processors with a comprehensive summary of government mandates and industry recommendations for minimizing the growth of L. monocytogenes in R.T.E. facilities. At length, the report covers alternative approaches establishments can utilize in R.T.E. meat and poultry processing plants during post-lethality exposure of R.T.E. products before packaging (for details, see "Listeria Hysteria," M&P January 2005, Page 46).http://www.MEATPOULTRY.com