Malley Thomas J V, Butts John, Wiedmann Martin
Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
Land O'Frost, Inc., Lansing, Illinois 60438, USA.
J Food Prot. 2015 Feb;78(2):436-45. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-13-507.
The majority of human listeriosis cases appear to be caused by consumption of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods contaminated at the time of consumption with high levels of Listeria monocytogenes. Although strategies to prevent growth of L. monocytogenes in RTE products are critical for reducing the incidence of human listeriosis, control of postprocessing environmental contamination of RTE meat and poultry products is an essential component of a comprehensive L. monocytogenes intervention and control program. Complete elimination of postprocessing L. monocytogenes contamination is challenging because this pathogen is common in various environments outside processing plants and can persist in food processing environments for years. Persistent L. monocytogenes strains in processing plants have been identified as the most common postprocessing contaminants of RTE foods and the cause of multiple listeriosis outbreaks. Identification and elimination of L. monocytogenes strains persisting in processing plants is thus critical for (i) compliance with zero-tolerance regulations for L. monocytogenes in U.S. RTE meat and poultry products and (ii) reduction of the incidence of human listeriosis. The seek-and-destroy process is a systematic approach to finding sites of persistent strains (niches) in food processing plants, with the goal of either eradicating or mitigating effects of these strains. This process has been used effectively to address persistent L. monocytogenes contamination in food processing plants, as supported by peer-reviewed evidence detailed here. Thus, a regulatory environment that encourages aggressive environmental Listeria testing is required to facilitate continued use of this science-based strategy for controlling L. monocytogenes in RTE foods.
大多数人类李斯特菌病病例似乎是由于食用了即食（RTE）食品，这些食品在食用时被高水平的单核细胞增生李斯特菌污染。虽然防止单核细胞增生李斯特菌在即食产品中生长的策略对于降低人类李斯特菌病的发病率至关重要，但控制即食肉类和家禽产品加工后环境的污染是单核细胞增生李斯特菌综合干预和控制计划的重要组成部分。完全消除加工后单核细胞增生李斯特菌的污染具有挑战性，因为这种病原体在加工厂外的各种环境中很常见，并且可以在食品加工环境中持续存在数年。加工厂中持续存在的单核细胞增生李斯特菌菌株已被确定为即食食品最常见的加工后污染物以及多次李斯特菌病暴发的原因。因此，识别和消除加工厂中持续存在的单核细胞增生李斯特菌菌株对于（i）符合美国即食肉类和家禽产品中单核细胞增生李斯特菌的零容忍规定以及（ii）降低人类李斯特菌病的发病率至关重要。寻找并消灭过程是一种系统的方法，用于在食品加工厂中找到持续存在菌株的位点（生态位），目的是根除或减轻这些菌株的影响。正如本文详细的同行评审证据所支持的那样，这个过程已被有效地用于解决食品加工厂中持续存在的单核细胞增生李斯特菌污染问题。因此，需要一个鼓励积极进行环境李斯特菌检测的监管环境，以促进继续使用这种基于科学的策略来控制即食食品中的单核细胞增生李斯特菌。
