Title: PROJECT INTRODUCTION
1- PROJECT INTRODUCTION
- AND
- LISTERIA SUMMARY
2Control of Listeria monocytogenes in Seafood
Processing Environments
- National Food Safety Initiative Project
- Funded by
- Cooperative State Research, Education and
Extension Service of USDA under Agreement No.
00-51110-9769
3 Principal Investigators Martin Wiedmann
Cornell Food Science Dept. Ken Gall New York
Sea Grant
- Project Collaborators
- Jenny Scott National Food Processors Assoc.
- Bob Collette National Fisheries Institute
- Doris Hicks University of Delaware
- Tom Rippen University of Maryland
- Mike Moody Jon Bell Louisiana State U.
- George Flick Virginia Tech
4To understand sources and spread of Listeria
monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) seafood
processing facilities and to develop intervention
strategies that can be implemented by industry.
5Listeria monocytogenes
- Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) is a bacterium that
can cause foodborne disease (listeriosis) in
humans - Listeriosis predominantly affects the elderly,
people with weak immune systems, and pregnant
women and newborns.
6Overview of the Problem
7Lm is widespread in the environment
- Water
- Sewage
- Fecal Material
Fenlon in Ryser Marth, 1999
8Lm can be isolated from a variety of animals
Sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, chickens, turkeys,
pheasants, fish, crustaceans, mice, rats,
rabbits, dogs, cats, deer, pigeons, parrots,
frogs, insects, etc.
Wesley in Ryser Marth, 1999
9Lm has been isolated from a wide variety
of foods
Dairy Products cheeses, ice cream Meats
sausages, ham, paté Poultry chicken,
turkey Vegetables potatoes, radishes, salad
mixes Seafood crab, shrimp, salmon, trout
Farber Peterkin, 1991 Ryser Marth, 1999
10Lm has been isolated from food plant environments
- Condensate
- Conveyors
- Slicers, etc.
- Mops, sponges
- Floors
- Drains
- HVAC
- Coolers
Bernard Sveum, 1994 Gravani in Ryser Marth,
1999
11Lm has been isolated from the home environment
- Kitchen environment
- Dish cloths, brushes
- Refrigerators
- Sinks
- Toothbrushes
Cox et al., 1989 Sergelidis et al., 1997 Beumer
te Giffel, 1998
12Lm has been isolated from the retail environment
- Deli foods
- Retail refrigerators
- Meat slicers
Humphrey and Worthington, 1990 Salvat et al. ,
1995 Sergelidis et al., 1997.
13Lm can be isolated from the intestinal tract of
humans0.8-21 of normal, healthy humans.
Slutsker Schuchat in Ryser Marth 1999
14Scenario No. 1The Isolated Case
- An individual case of listeriosis with no
apparent link to others. - The conditions leading to isolated cases are
varied and often uncertain or unknown. - Some may be part of a cluster or outbreak that
was not detected.
Source Tompkin, R.B. (2002) J. Food Prot.
65709-725
15Scenario No. 2 Cases Linked by a Single Lot of
Food
- One lot of contaminated food that leads to a
cluster of cases. - One or more food handling errors may be involved.
- The outbreak ceases when the lot of food is no
longer available.
Source Tompkin, R.B. (2002) J. Food Prot.
65709-725
16Scenario 3 Clusters or outbreaks involving
multiple lots of food from a single source
- Cases may be scattered by time and location.
- An unusually virulent strain of Lm has become
established in a food operation. - Multiple lots of food are contaminated over
time. - The food supports the growth of Lm.
Source Tompkin, R.B. (2002) J. Food Prot.
65709-725
17Industry Priorities
- 1. Prevent conditions that lead to extended
outbreaks (scenario 3). - 2. Control conditions to minimize the risk of
isolated cases and clusters (scenarios 1 and 2). - 3. Control conditions to satisfy regulatory
requirements.
18Consequences of Lm in Foods - Listeriosis
- normal individuals??
- pregnant women
- neonates
- the elderly
- immunosuppressed
- individuals
19Foodborne Listeriosis
- 2500 cases (estimated)
- 90 are hospitalized
- 500 deaths (20 of cases)
CDC, 1999
20FDA Recalls
- 17 in 1999, 34 in 2000, 34 in 2001
- sandwiches, cheeses (hard and soft), sliced
apples, platter w/ red bell peppers, red bell
peppers, seafood (smoked, salads, dip), ice
cream, cut salads, sprouts, coleslaw, hummus,
cucumber garlic sauce
21USDA Recalls
- 31/62 (50) in 1999
- 35/76 (46) in 2000
- 22/87 (25) in 2001
- sausages, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, roast beef,
corned beef, ham, bologna, enchiladas, burritos,
fajitas, chicken salad, chicken wings, roast
duckling, duck breast, jerky
22Recent Seafood Recalls
- Smoked trout Eden Brook Fish Market, NY, 7/02
- Other Smoked Fish products,
- Majority of seafood recalls
- Langostino tails Trader Joes, East and
Midwest, January 2001 - Smoked whitefish salad Hommarus/Marshall Smoked
Fish, Inc., December 2000 - Seafood Salad Ittella Foods, CA, October 2000
23Warning Letters
- Pacific Seafood Group, Newport, Oregon, July 01-
Frozen shrimp adulterated with LM
24Listeriosis from seafood
- Shrimp (?) 1989, CT, 10 cases
- Mussels 1991, Australia, 4 cases
- Mussels 1992, New Zealand, 3 cases
- Gravad (raw marinated) or cold-smoked rainbow
trout 1994-95, Sweden, 9 cases - Cold-smoked rainbow trout 1998, Finland, 5 cases
25 Case Study Sara Lee, 12/98
- Recall of 15 million pounds of deli meats and hot
dogs due to LM contamination - 101 listeriosis cases and 21 deaths
- 1.6 million settlement on 5 individual wrongful
death claims in Cook County - Settlement of class action lawsuit - 5 million
(?)
26 Sara Lee (continued)
- Pleaded guilty June 22, 2001 to misdemeanor
charge of selling contaminated meat - Paid maximum fine of 200,000
- Agreed to spend 3 million on food safety
research at Michigan State University
27Listeriosis Outbreak 2002
- 53 illnesses, 11 deaths July-Oct
- Turkey deli meat implicated
- Pilgrims Pride/Wampler
- Recall of 27 million pounds of fresh and frozen
RTE turkey and chicken products due to possible
LM contamination outbreak strain in plant - Jack Lambersky Poultry
- Recall of 200,000 pounds of RTE poultry products
outbreak strain found in product
28Draft Assessment of the Relative Riskto Public
Health from Foodborne Listeria monocytogenes
Among Selected Categories of Ready-to-Eat Foods
1/19/01
29FDA/FSIS Risk Assessment
Highest relative risk per serving
- Pâté, meat spreads
- Fresh soft cheese
- Smoked seafood
(Intermediate Age Group)
30Survey of LM in Ready-to-Eat Foods, 2003.
- Many Products collected and tested
- Including
- Seafood Salads (other than tuna)
- Smoked Seafood
- Crawfish tail meat NOT tested
- Gombas, DE, et al. (2003) J. Food Protection
31Ready-to-Eat Food Samples Tested in 2000-2001
(n 31,705)
Smoked seafood 2644 samples 114 4.3
Seafood salads 2446 samples 115 4.7
32Survey of LM in Ready-to-Eat Foods, 2003.
- Summary of Findings
- Smoked Seafood and Seafood Salads
- High LM incidence or occurrence
- Amount of LM bacteria per occurrence could
also be high - Smoked seafood and seafood salad products are
a concern for LM occurrence and risk
33U.S. Policy
Zero Tolerance None detected in a 25g sample of
a ready-to-eat food
34Reduction of Listeriosis
The US has a public health goal to reduce the
incidence of listeriosis in half by 2005.
35Outbreak Foods
- Refrigerated foods
- Long shelf-life
- Supports growth to high numbers
36Many RTE Seafoods
- Refrigerated foods
- Long shelf-life
- Supports growth to high numbers
37Summary
- Smoked seafood has all the characteristics of a
high risk food with respect to listeriosis - Smoked seafood seafood salads appear to have a
higher prevalence of LM than many RTE foods - FDA has concerns about LM in all RTE foods,
including crawfish expect more regulatory
action in the future - Recalls are expensive
- Making someone sick is more expensive
38Conclusion
- Understanding the risk and control of LM in
processing plants and final products is critical
for the crawfish tail meat industry