February 2005

Listeria are bacteria which can cause an infection known as listeriosis. The bacteria are very resistant to common food preservation agents such as heat, salt, nitrite, and acids. It can also multiply in refrigerated foods. Listeria is often present in the intestines of seemingly healthy animals. The bacteria can contaminate milk and meat products produced from infected animals and can also contaminate vegetables fertilized with contaminated manure.
Since the early 1980s Listeria infections have been traced to food products such as coleslaw, milk, soft cheeses, hot dogs, and luncheon meats. Pregnant women are advised to avoid foods, such as soft cheeses, that are easily contaminated with Listeria. Taking precautions such as thoroughly cooking foods, eating only pasteurized milk products, washing fruits and vegetables, and washing hands after contact with raw meat also reduces the chances of contracting listeriosis.
The federal government has established programs to test for Listeria in ready-to-eat foods and to recall food containing the bacteria. Healthy people are generally resistant to listeriosis but pregnant women are very susceptible to the infection. Listeria infections in pregnant women may result in miscarriages or stillbirths. Meningitis (brain infections) and septicemia (bacteria in the bloodstream) may occur in infants born to women with listeriosis.
Description of Listeria
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA, April 1992), “Listeria refers to a genus (related group) of bacteria. One species in this genus, Listeria monocytogenes, can cause a serious bacterial infection called listeriosis. Usually when public health officials refer to Listeria, they are referring specifically to Listeria monocytogenes.”Continue Reading Overview: Listeriosis

ALBANY, NY — December 7, 2004 — State Agriculture Commissioner Nathan L. Rudgers today warned consumers of possible Listeria contamination of certain hot, dry, pork sausage sold by the Calabria Pork Store, 2338 Arthur Avenue, The Bronx, New York 10458.
The hot, dry, pork sausage was sold at retail in bulk, uncoded and unpackaged form from The Bronx store.
The Calabria Pork Store is voluntarily recalling the product which was sold between November 23, 2004 and December 7, 2004.
The problem was discovered as a result of routine sampling by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Inspectors, and subsequent analysis by the Department’s Food laboratory. Production of the hot, dry, pork sausage has been suspended while an investigation continues into the source of the problem.Continue Reading Listeria Warning Issued on Hot Dry Pork Sausage Sold in Little Italy

Congressional and Public Affairs
(202) 720-9113
Steven Cohen
WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2004 – A report outlining the impact of the interim final rule designed to further reduce the incidence of Listeria monocytogenes (LM) in ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry products and making recommendations for possible future actions was released for public comment today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The report shows that the overall safety of these products has improved in response to the Listeria interim final rule because establishments have strengthened their control procedures, increased testing and taken additional steps to eliminate the pathogen.
“Under the Listeria rule, ready-to-eat meat and poultry products are safer and public health is being better protected,” Agriculture Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Elsa Murano said. “If progress continues at the current rate, we should achieve the Healthy People 2010 goal of lowering the incidence of listeriosis to 0.25 cases per 100,000 people.”Continue Reading Report Finds Listeria Rule Sparks Major Industry Changes

Fri, Oct. 22, 2004
Some things every pregnant woman should know
By NEVY KAMINSKI
Knight Ridder Newspapers
A few weeks ago when I found out I was pregnant, I really thought I knew it all.
After all, I had been working toward this goal since my November nuptials, and I thought I was pretty well-informed and educated on the subject.
But after going through a stack of books and magazines, visiting my doctor and having several conversations with experienced moms, I realized I had a lot to learn. It’s good that women have nine long months to learn about the process.
This is a list of just some of the things that I, as a first-time mom-to-be, have learned. It’s a good start, but don’t forget to use these months to scour the Internet, go to your bookstore or library, talk to your doctor and query other moms about their experiences. In short, find out as much as you can.Continue Reading Prenatal primer

Fri, Nov. 05, 2004
HERALD-LEADER STAFF REPORT
Several chicken products sold by the Whole Foods Market in Louisville and in several other states were recalled Wednesday because of possible Listeria contamination, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.
The recalled products, from Whole Foods Mid-Atlantic Kitchen, were distributed to Whole Foods Markets in Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia. The only Whole Foods location in Kentucky is at 4944 Shelbyville Road in Louisville.
The recall includes about 1,275 pounds of chicken products.
Listeria is a bacteria that can sicken people with compromised immune systems and can cause stillbirths and miscarriages in pregnant women.Continue Reading Chicken sold in Louisville is recalled

By JOHN WILEN
Bucks County Courier Times
The listeria outbreak that forced Pilgrim’s Pride to recall 27.4 million pounds of poultry products processed at its Franconia plant in Montgomery County two years ago has spawned a criminal investigation, federal authorities confirmed Tuesday.
“The investigation is open and it is ongoing,” said Deirdre MacNeil, a spokeswoman with the Department of Agriculture’s Inspector General’s Office, which is conducting the investigation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia.
MacNeil declined further comment on the investigation Tuesday, citing standard department policy.
Stephen Cohen, a spokesman for the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, said the investigation does not involve FSIS actions.Continue Reading Criminal probe under way in 2002 listeria outbreak

Recall Release CLASS I RECALL
FSIS-RC-040-2004 HEALTH RISK: HIGH
WASHINGTON, November 3, 2004 – Whole Foods Mid-Atlantic Kitchen, a Landover, Md. firm, is voluntarily recalling approximately 1,275 pounds of chicken products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.
The products subject to recall are:
12 oz.”WHOLE FOODS CHICKEN POT PIE.” Each package contains a best if used by date of “11/02/04.”
10 lb. bags of “WHOLE FOODS Classic Chicken Salad.” Each bag has a use by date of “11/01/04.”
15 oz. containers of “WHOLE FOODS CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP, SMALL.” Each container has a sell by date of “11/04/04.”
30 oz. containers of “WHOLE FOODS CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP, LARGE.” Each container has a sell by date of “11/04/04.”
All products bear the establishment number “P-18768” inside the USDA seal of inspection.
The chicken pot pie and chicken noodle soup were produced on October 28, 2004. The chicken salad was produced on October 27, 2004. All products were distributed to retail stores in the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia.Continue Reading Maryland Firm Recalls Chicken Products for Possible Listeria Contamination

Microbiologic implication of meat as a source of clinical listeriosis has not previously been documented. In December 1988, a woman with cancer was hospitalized in Oklahoma with sepsis caused by Listeria monocytogenes (LM). LM was isolated from an open package of Plantation Brand turkey franks from the patient’s refrigerator.
The patient had eaten one turkey frank daily heated in a microwave oven. LM was also isolated from two unopened packages of Plantation Brand turkey franks from a local store. Cultures of other foods in the patient’s refrigerator were positive for LM; however, unopened samples of those foods were negative for LM. LM isolates from the patient and from the opened and unopened packages of franks were confirmed at CDC as serotype 1/2a with the same electrophoretic enzyme type.
On April 14, 1989, the company voluntarily recalled the franks, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture began an investigation of the processing plant. Multiple products from the patient’s refrigerator grew LM of the same serotype and enzyme type, suggesting cross-contamination; therefore, isolation of LM from opened packages is not sufficient to identify the source of infection.Continue Reading Epidemiologic Notes and Reports Listeriosis Associated with Consumption of Turkey Franks

Although outbreaks of invasive disease caused by Listeria monocytogenes have been associated with ingestion of a variety of contaminated foods (1-5), most listeriosis in the United States occurs as isolated or sporadic cases. To determine the incidence of listeriosis and identify risk factors for disease, during 1988-1990, CDC collaborated with investigators in four states to conduct active laboratory-based surveillance and special studies in a population of more than 18 million U.S. residents. This report summarizes the findings of these studies (6,7).
The study areas included Los Angeles County, the San Francisco Bay area, the Atlanta metropolitan area, four counties in Tennessee, and the state of Oklahoma. Investigators made regular calls to all hospital laboratories and completed case report forms for all residents in whom L. monocytogenes was isolated from a usually sterile site (e.g., blood, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), or amniotic fluid).Continue Reading Update: Foodborne Listeriosis — United States, 1988-1990

Since early August 1998, 40 illnesses caused by a single strain of Listeria monocytogenes (LM) have been identified in 10 states: Ohio (13 cases); New York (12); Tennessee, Massachusetts, and West Virginia (three each); Michigan (two); and Connecticut, Oregon, Vermont, and Georgia (one each). Dates of illness onset or LM isolation ranged from August 2 through December 2. All LM isolates from these cases are serotype 4b and share an unusual pattern when subtyped either by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis or by ribotyping methods. Historically, this pattern is rare among LM isolates from humans.
Among 38 patients for whom demographic data are available, six were newborns and 32 were adults (median age: 69 years; range: 18-88 years); 55% of patients were female. Four deaths occurred, including one fetus and three elderly persons.
In collaboration with CDC, health departments in Connecticut, New York, Ohio, and Tennessee conducted a multistate case-control study comparing 4-week food histories of 20 patients infected with the outbreak strain with those of 20 control patients infected with other LM strains. Sixteen (89%) of 18 cases but only six (32%) of 19 controls consumed cooked hot dogs during the month before illness onset (odds ratio=17.3; 95% confidence interval=2.4-160.0; pless than 0.01). On December 19, the outbreak strain of LM was isolated from an open package of hot dogs. These hot dogs had been eaten by a patient 4 weeks before onset of listeriosis caused by the outbreak strain.Continue Reading Multistate Outbreak of Listeriosis — United States, 1998