The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has implemented more rigorous testing for listeria in manufacturing plants producing ready-to-eat meat, such as cold cuts.
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The policy has been developed using a health risk assessment approach and uses a combination of inspection, environmental sampling and end product testing.
The agency said the enhanced measures will increase the likelihood of early detection, reporting and control of listeria by both the Canadian government and the industry.
“The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance regarding the inspection and compliance action of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods with respect to their potential to support growth of the organism,” the CFIA listeria policy notes.
“Consistent with the current knowledge that the risk of contamination by listeria monocytogenes can be reduced, but the organism cannot always be eradicated from finished product or the plant environment, priority is placed on RTE foods which have been causally linked to outbreaks of listeriosis and those that support growth of listeria monocytogenes with a greater than ten-day refrigerated shelf-life.”
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By GlobalDataThe outbreak in question relates to last year’s listeria contamination problem in products produced by Maple Leaf Foods. At least 20 people died of listeriosis from consuming contaminated meat in the outbreak.
The company has welcomed the policy, which it said is an “essential next step” towards higher levels of safety in the meat industry.
“We are encouraged to see the implementation of enhanced standards that will raise food safety standards across the industry,” said Michael McCain, president and CEO. “This new government listeria management policy sets a new and more stringent regulatory standard.
“Our aggressive programmes have demonstrated that listeria will be found routinely in ready-to-eat processing plant. Early detection is important as it ensures appropriate remedial actions are taken. While our company has learned, and continues to learn, that listeria control requires enormous attention to detail and rigour, the first step is to aggressively test to find where listeria will thrive in the plant environment and prevent it from entering the food supply.”
The policy will require companies to undertake environmental testing for the presence of listeria on surfaces with which meat may come in contact and report any positive results to the CFIA immediately.
The CFIA will also be increasing its facility checks for both meats and surfaces that the meats will come into contact with.
