Controlling Listeria

The control of Listeria in food manufacturing is multi‐faceted and has been controlled historically by product development, product decontamination and effective cleaning practices. Whilst the overall incidence of Listeria is low, in the order of a few thousand cases per year in Europe, its incidence in Europe is increasing, probably due to the expansion of the section of the population above 60 years of age, the major illness related factor (EFSA 2018).

Dr John Holah, Principle Scientist, FS&PH Kersia, has published a white paper on a suggested Listeria Management Plan (LMP), which incorporates the philosophy of managing food safety based on risk assessment of the food manufacturing process and food manufacturing environment, has six key elements and is shown schematically in Figure 1. Each of these key elements then contains a series of policies/procedures/plans to support the elements objectives. The LMP should form part of the food manufacturers overall food safety plan, which will incorporate e.g. HACCP, TACCP, VACCP, PEP, traceability and product recall studies and a Crisis Management Plan.

For further information on Listeria Management and developing a physical plan including its scope, content, documentation, management and records with the help of the Kersia, please visit our listeria management plan.