Meat + Poultry - May 2007 - 61

LISTERIA

systems for environmental controls of
Listeria, such as chemical sanitizers.
Most of these technologies are used in
ready-to-eat packaging rooms. Many
meat plants will use ultraviolet lamps,
but these only work where the light
shines. Another option is to use an advanced oxidation cell that is encased
in a honeycombed grid that contains
metal catalysts. These accelerate the
production of oxidative gases such as
vapor hydrogen peroxide and ozone
that are effective against Listeria. These
low levels of oxidative gases kill Listeria and mold spores in other areas
where UV light can't reach, such as in
corners of rooms and the undersides
of equipment.
"All sizes of processors are using
these technologies," says Marsden. "In
general, the industry is getting a handle
on controlling Listeria, but the next step
is in the deli where pasteurized products are opened and recontamination
can occur." He adds that some of these
same technologies, such as the UV,
would have applications in deli meat
processing environments.
Both Marsden and Butts say these
and other technology changes have
outdated the joint agency risk model for Listeria. USDA data indicates
more Listeria positives originate from
low-volume plants, explains Butts.
According to the data, the average
ready-to-eat production was 22.6 million pounds per year. There was only
one positive in a plant with greater
than average production. Overall, 42
percent of plants reporting Listeria
positives produced less than 100,000
pounds of meat per year; 22 percent
of Listeria positives came from plants
producing between 100,000 pounds to
1 million pounds per year; 30 percent
of positives came from plants producing 1 million to 10 million pounds per
year; and 6 percent of positives came
from plants producing more than 10
million pounds per year.
"Since 2001, the American Meat Institute has shared its best practices for
Listeria control through its Listeria Intervention and Control Workshop," says
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Butts. "These best practices encourage
sampling to find growth niches. Corrective and preventative action to either limit or manage the growth niche
is the next step in the Listeria control
process, and it's our job as larger companies to encourage smaller processors to find the problems and eliminate
growth niches. If you take action, you
get positive results."

"If you take action, you
get positive results."
To control costs, small plants easily
can formulate solutions with lactate, citrate and diacetate to work as growth
inhibitors for Listeria, according to Marsden. "There also are effective innovative environmental control technologies in the range of $5,000," he says.
"Of course, all plants also must rely on
excellent sanitation to control Listeria
in the plant environment. In addition,
small plants may contract for high-pressure pasteurization services."
According to Randy Huffman, vice
president of scientific affairs for AMI,
"implementing good sanitation and Listeria control programs is the best way
to control the organism in the environment. You need to have good sanitaiton
and manufacturing practices in place before these technologies will work."
"The USDA Listeria regulation still
allows companies different options,"

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adds Marsden. "Alternative one is an
excellent program and the others are
lesser. It would be nice if USDA would
push the meat industry toward a uniform Listeria control program. Riskbased inspection may do that."
Land O' Frost has an aggressive Listeria monitoring program. The company has interventions for all of its
equipment. For instance, if Butts has
a questionable situation on a slicer,
he will put it in the smoke house and
heat it to make sure it's free of potential pathogens.
From a facility standpoint, Butts
says that Land O' Frost has designed its
work areas to have dry floors to prevent
pathogens from spreading. They have
a critical air handling system where incoming fresh air circulates and is then
routed into the ready-to-eat area during cleanup to remove the moisture in
the room. This process eliminates the
fog created during the cleanup process.
The room will warm up to 75°F-80°F
during cleanup. A critical air unit is
then switched to process mode and the
room cools down and finishes drying.
Processing areas cool in just 30 minutes
once the refrigeration unit kicks on.
"Listeria has the highest fatality rate
of all foodborne pathogens," says Butts.
"We can greatly reduce the incidence
by trying to find the organism by taking effective and preventative action.
We also have to conduct sampling
when an organism is found and properly train sanitation employees, especially those in the ready-to-eat areas
because of the higher susceptibility to
finding Listeria."
Both Butts and Marsden agree the
technology exists to control Listeria;
the challenge is applying the technology in a manner that applies to all facility sizes and types of meat processing operations.
For a Summary of the Listeria monocytogenes Compliance Guideline for Small and Very Small Meat and
Poultry plants that Produce Ready-To-Eat Products,
go to http://www.fsis.usda.gov.
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this story or to request reprints, contact us by
e-mail at: meatpoultry@sosland.com.

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Meat + Poultry - May 2007

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