Completed Research

The study characterized the genetic basis for the apparent differences in prevalence of different serotypes and strain types of L. monocytogenes in the processing plant environment and in foods, specifically if genes mediating adaptations are highly relevant to the ability of the pathogen to colonize the processing plant and contaminate RTE meats.  

The goals of this project were to develop and implement new control strategies for L. monocytogenes in commercial retail delis and to test the ability of these strategies to reduce and control L. monocytogenes contamination.
Project co-sponsored by the Food Marketing Institute Foundation.

This study focused on developing new Appendix A style time-temperature tables for non-beef ready-to-eat products such as turkey deli-breast and boneless ham. Researchers also compared the baseline results from the original work that was conducted to develop Appendix A to the results of this study for Salmonella in roast beef and confirmed the validity of its effectiveness for pathogenic E. coli and L. monocytogenes strains.

This project developed a white-paper addressing the scientific support behind current Listeria monocytogenes process controls employed by the ready-to-eat meat and poultry industry. The “Seek and Destroy” strategy is a systematic approach to finding sites of persistent growth in food processing plants, with the goal of either eradicating or monitoring and mitigating effects of niches.

Due to the concern for recovery of injured L. monocytogenes on natural and organic processed meats where many conventional antimicrobials cannot be used, a series of compounds with antimicrobial potential for use in these products combined with different post-lethality treatments were evaluated for the most effective combinations. The studies demonstrated that selected natural antimicrobial ingredients and post-lethality interventions currently available to manufacturers of natural and organic ready-to-eat processed meats are effective at addressing the potential presence of Lm on such products. Moreover, the work further substantiated the effectiveness of a multiple hurdle approach for the control of Lm in RTE processed meat products.

This white paper provides information on epidemiology of foodborne listeriosis and interventions for controlling this pathogen. Reports of human illness and outbreaks and on levels of contamination of meat and other foods were gathered to demonstrate trends in recent years and identify foods and environments where contamination problems persist.

This white paper defined multi-drug resistance as related to different bacterial pathogens; discusses sources of multi-drug resistance and how resistance genes are transmitted among different strains and different species of bacteria; identifies multi-drug resistant bacteria associated with different foods and food production animals; evaluates efficacy of interventions to prevent development of multidrug resistance and to prevent contamination of foods with multidrug resistant pathogens; and recommends risk mitigation strategies in a preventive food safety process management system.

This project evaluated high voltage atmospheric cold plasma technology on treatment ready-to-eat deli-style, chicken breast meat for reduction of Listeria monocytogenes and its impact on product quality.

This study will investigate the impact of compositional, physical, and intrinsic factors on pathogen lethality and the relationship between relative humidity and wet bulb control to determine if wet bulb could be utilized as a more effective and suitable lethality tool. This project builds on previous AMIF-funded research.