Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria spp. Populations in the environment of small produce farms

A study characterizing Listeria diversity in wildlife feces and agricultural water collected from a New York state produce farm over a growing season was published in J Food Prot (2021) 84 (1): 113–121. The data presented indicate that Listeria is prevalent in the New York state preharvest produce environment. Of the 209 samples collected, 41% were positive for Listeria monocytogenes (LM), and 24% were positive for other Listeria species. A considerable diversity at a small spatial scale was observed for both LM, and other Listeria spp. in the farm environment investigated. The results suggest that traceback investigations may be challenging. To traceback finished product or processing facility contamination with specific subtypes to preharvest sources may require the collection of large sample sets and characterization of a considerable number of isolates. Listeria from the preharvest environment is likely to contaminate produce and/or be introduced to the processing environment. @ https://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article/84/1/113/444007/Small-Produce-Farm-Environments-Can-Harbor-Diverse

Small Produce Farm Environments Can Harbor Diverse Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria spp. Populations | Journal of Food Protection | Allen Press
No comments

Leave a Reply