How do you ensure that the right people know about the perils of Listeria monocytogenes, a tough, hardy bacterium that can cause a form of food poisoning called listeriosis in vulnerable people?
The recent safefood Listeria Knowledge Network conference in Dublin highlighted the importance of knowing where and how we need to monitor for Listeria, and which consumers and foods are most at risk.
This was the fourth annual conference and it had a strong focus on issues of interest to industry, explains Dr Kieran Jordan, safefood's Listeria Knowledge Network facilitator.
The conference heard how the incidence of reported Listeria infections has been rising in Europe, and that, over the past decade, between seven and 13 cases have been notified annually in Ireland, with a spike of 21 in 2007.
Meanwhile, genome analysis of L. monocytogenes in a current outbreak in Denmark showed that all 20 people were infected with the same bacterium, the conference heard.
Samples from 40 food processors in the Republic of Ireland showed a general L. monocytogenes prevalence of 4.6% (though not all food processors yielded positive samples), the conference learned. Delegates discussed ‘challenge trials’ to find out how different foods support the growth of Listeria as well as the effect of light, sanitisers and cold plasma on Listeria survival.
Kieran, a researcher at Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark, Co Cork, hopes the findings highlighted at the conference can now feed into workshops with the food production and processing industry, and that they will ultimately help to inform and protect consumers.
“At the conference, we discussed the need to target particular groups within industry and the population for more education and awareness about Listeria,” he says. “We will be looking at ways to meet that challenge.”
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