EUROPE: EFSA updates listeria advice

Scientists at Europe's food safety watchdog have updated advice on the risks in foods from listeria, a bacteria causing a food-borne disease which is on the increase.

In an opinion published today (22 January), the Scientific Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) of the European Food Safety Athority (EFSA) recommended that efforts to reduce risks to human health should focus on risk reduction practices both during the production process of ready-to-eat foods (RTE) and at home by consumers.

The panel recommended that to better assess the risk of the foods responsible for listeriosis it was necessary to investigate listeriosis cases more thoroughly and generate and analyse data on the consumption in the EU of ready-to-eat foods in which listeria can be found.

Different approaches are taken by public authorities across the world in monitoring the levels of listeria, with maximum safety tolerance already present in the European Union.

The Panel concluded that keeping to these limits leads to very low numbers of listeriosis cases in humans as most listeriosis cases are due to the consumption of ready-to-eat foods which support growth of listeria and develop a high concentration along the food chain.

In its advice to industry, the panel identified food packaging and preparation practices in the food chain as a key area for consideration as well as storage temperatures, general industrial good hygiene practices and the education and training of food handlers.