Risk Assessment Of Listeria Monocytogenes In Ready To Eat Foods

Cases of listeriosis appear to be predominantly associated with ready-to-eat products. FAO and WHO have undertaken a risk assessment of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods, prepared and reviewed by an international team of scientists. Input was received from several international fora including expert consultations and Codex Alimentarius committee meetings as well as via public and peer review. This technical report provides complete documentation of the risk assessment, the approaches taken, the data and methodology used, and the results. It also contains four example assessments addressing the risk of listeriosis associated with fresh milk, ice cream, fermented meats and cold-smoked fish. These products were selected to represent typical classes of ready-to-eat products.

Cases of listeriosis appear to be predominantly associated with ready-to-eat products. FAO and WHO have undertaken a risk assessment of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods, prepared and reviewed by an international team of scientists. Input was received from several international fora including expert consultations and Codex Alimentarius committee meetings as well as via public and peer review. This interpretative summary provides an overview of how the risk assessment was undertaken and the results. In particular, it provides information relevant to risk managers addressing problems posed by this pathogen in ready-to-eat foods. It includes answers to the specific risk management questions posed by the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene and outlines the issues to be considered when implementing control measures, including the establishment of microbiological criteria.

Jointly issued by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization. For interpretative summary of this report, see (ISBN 9251051267).

Cases of listeriosis in food appear to be predominantly associated with ready-to-eat products. This publication contains a summary of the risk assessment, jointly undertaken by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization, into the problems posed by the pathogen in ready-to-eat foods. It covers specific risk management questions posed by the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) and outlines issues to be considered when implementing control measures, including the establishment of microbiological criteria. The full technical report is available separately (ISBN 9251051275).

Since the publication of the 2004 risk assessment, outbreaks of illness and resultant deaths due to L. monocytogenes continue to occur across the globe. Continued effort is needed to summarize and critically evaluate the most recent information on L. monocytogenes in RTE foods. New data to improve and further inform the 2004 Risk Assessment is available for nearly every factor considered previously, including new quantitative data on L. monocytogenes contamination of foods. To facilitate this work, an FAO/WHO expert meeting was held by virtual means from 20 October to 6 November 2020 to review and discuss the available data and background documents, and to assess the need to modify and update risk assessment models/tools. This report focuses on the deliberations and conclusions of the expert meeting.

This report summarizes the findings of the Joint Meeting on the risk assessments of salmonella in eggs and broiler chickens, and listeria in ready-to-eat foods. It presents a preliminary response to the specific risk management questions posed by the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene. It provides advice on how these risk assessments can be used and adapted by FAO and WHO member countries.

The microbiological safety of food is becoming an increasingly important issue in many countries. A number of factors have contributed to this, including changes in methods of food production and processing, changing consumption patterns, greater consumer awareness of food safety issues and emerging and re-emerging pathogens. Also, the expansion of international trade in food has increased the risk of infectious agents being disseminated from the original point of production to locations thousands of miles away. In addressing this issue at the international level FAO and WHO convened a joint Expert Consultation on Risk Assessment of Microbiological Hazards in Foods from 17 to 21 July 2000 in Rome. The meeting specifically addressed risk assessment of Salmonella spp. in broilers and eggs and Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods. This report summarizes its findings and includes advice and guidance on hazard characterization and exposure assessment of these pathogen-commodity combinations for consideration by FAO/WHO Member Countries and the Codex Alimentarius Commission.