Food Safety
Longer shelf life contributes to increased listeria 05 Oct 2009
The UK Chilled Food Association (CFA) has raised concerns about the lengthy shelf life of some listeria-prone ready-to-eat foods (RTE) in some countries as the EU said it would help fund a study on the issue.
Kaarin Goodburn, of the CFA said increasing incidents of listeria monocytogenes could be linked to longer shelf lives allowed for foods such as RTE smoked salmon, meats and specialist cheeses in many continental European countries compared to the UK. In some cases, she said these can be up to twice as long.
Millions contributed
The concern was raised as the European Commission agreed last month to contribute more than €1.5 million to a survey on the prevalence of listeria in some RTE foods across the economic bloc.
The decision to provide cash for the project was unanimously backed by member states after the Commission reported there had been a “significant increasing trend in cases of listeriosis” in humans since 2001. They further stated RTE foods could “be an important source of contamination” and that “illness is often severe and mortality is high.”
The Commission said, “The growth of listeria monocytogenes in a ready-to-eat product is influenced significantly by the pH, water activity and storage temperature of the product. A modelling can be used for the estimation of the growth of listeria monocytogenes in a ready-to-eat product under various temperature conditions.”
According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the highest frequency of listeria-tainted products are found in RTE fish, cheese and meat products because they no longer “undergo any treatment” before consumption - such as reduction before cooking."
As human exposure to listeria is food borne, the study will look at packaged (not frozen) hot or cold smoked or gravad fish; soft or semi-soft cheeses, excluding fresh cheeses and packaged heat treated meat products in a harmonised way across Europe.
The Commission confirmed the survey will be carried out next year with the findings from individual countries due to be reported by the end of May 2011. The final report is scheduled for release by the end of 2011.
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