Practical control of Listeria monocytogenes in smallgoods
| Project start date: | 09 May 2011 |
| Project end date: | 25 May 2011 |
| Publication date: | 25 May 2011 |
| Project status: | Completed |
| Livestock species: | Sheep, Goat, Lamb, Grassfed cattle, Grainfed cattle |
Summary
The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene - CCFH - has accepted the proposition that ready-to-eat - RTE - meat products should contain <100 listeria monocytogenes at the time of consumption and that products which do not support the growth of this organism should be subjected to quantitative testing for listeria monocytogenes, rather than qualitative testing for the presence absence in 25g which has been the traditional regulatory approach.>
Risk assessment in the Australian context has reached the same conclusion as CCFH regarding the risk of product containing low levels of Listeria monocytogenes, and products that do not allow its growth or have too short a shelf-life to allow significant growth.
Determining which products will (not) support growth of Listeria monocytogenes through challenge testing is a long and expensive process.
A predictive model for Listeria monocytogenes growth has been developed that allows prediction based on measurement of physical parameters such as pH, water activity and lactate concentration. The model, originally developed for fish products, appears to be entirely satisfactory for RTE meats.
Australian industry has not had a simple means of determining whether their products are relatively safe with respect to Listeria monocytogenes growth - thereby having the opportunity to reformulate their product or take some other action - and regulators have not had the means to determine whether products support the growth of Listeria monocytogenes when testing and potentially recalling product, even though there are guidelines utilising support of Listeria monocytogenes growth as a key criterion.
The aim of this project was to determine the practical ways that both industry and regulators can make use of predictive models to determine whether ready-to-eat meats will support the growth of Listeria monocytogenes, formulate product for greater safety, and recall only products of public health concern.
A final report from data collection and testing of the growth predicition calculator and the booklet 'Reducing the risk of Listeria monocytogenes in smallgoods - Version One' are available to download.
