July 2005

Infection of food due to Listeria can be life-threatening unless vigilance is practiced to curb the infection according to the report published by Food Safety Authority of Ireland.(FSAI). The mortality due to infection can be as much as 30% associated with Listeria food contamination and only miniscule amounts need to be consumed to cause serious infection.
Continue Reading Listeria Food Poisoning Can Be Dangerous In Pregnant Women And Elderly

From the CDC
Listeriosis, a serious infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, has recently been recognized as an important public health problem in the United States. The disease affects primarily pregnant women, newborns, and adults with weakened immune systems. It can be avoided by following a few simple recommendations.Continue Reading Listeriosis

05/07/2005
Tighter controls need to be adopted by both the food industry and consumers to limit the spread of the harmful food pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, concludes a new report.
Detailing some 58 recommendations for risk prevention, the report was prepared by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland’s microbiology sub-committee.
Food safety is a leading issue in society today, made ever more urgent by the growth of mass food production. And the incidence of foodborne pathogens can bring heavy costs to industry, employer and government.
The UN-backed World Health Organization estimates medical costs and the value of lives lost during just five foodborne outbreaks in England and Wales in 1996 were estimated at £300-700 million (Ä428-Ä999m); the cost of the estimated 11 500 daily cases of food poisoning in Australia has been calculated at AU$ 2.6 billion (Ä1.5bn) annually.
The FSAI squarely lays responsibility at the door of the food producer, and consumer.Continue Reading Listeria risk: authority tells food industry to toughen controls

By Carole Sugarman
My daughter never met a chicken tender she didn’t like. But during a recent family vacation in Florida, 9-year-old Anna was struck with a bad case of salmonellosis — disease caused by salmonella. And while we’ll never know for sure, we strongly suspect it was caused by contaminated, undercooked poultry at one of her daily restaurant chicken meals.
There is more than a little irony in this tale of excruciating stomach pains, bathroom vigils and hospital emergency rooms.
As a food writer for 25 years, I’ve interviewed numerous victims of food-borne diseases and parents of children who’ve died from them. I’ve attended scores of conferences and hearings where food safety issues are debated among government officials, industry and activist groups.
But this was the first time I got to see firsthand how devastating full-blown food-borne illness can be. Believe me, we’re not talking about a bad tummy ache.Continue Reading A Taste of Food Poisoning

www.about-listeria.com
Listeria monocytogenes (Listeria) is a pathogenic (disease-causing) bacterium that is food borne and causes an illness called listeriosis1. It is frequently overlooked as a possible cause of illness due to its unique growth capabilities. First, it is somewhat difficult for laboratories to grow, and when they do so, Listeria can be confused with common harmless contaminants and disregarded. Second, most bacteria grow poorly when temperatures fall below 40″F, while Listeria survives in temperatures from below freezing (20″F) to body temperature and it grows best at 0″F to 50″F,1 including the temperature range that we use for refrigeration. As a result, Listeria may be transmitted in ready-to-eat foods that have been kept properly refrigerated. Its ability to grow in such diverse environments is just one of the many challenges presented by this dangerous bacterium.Continue Reading What is Listeria monocytogenes?