FSIS Assesses Listeria

High-risk foods demand high scrutiny in HACCP programs

By Scott Hume, Executive Managing Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 1/1/2004

A new government study assessing relative risks posed to public health from foodborne listeria contamination provides foodservice operators with guidelines that can be used to refine their internal HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control point) programs.

Prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the study sought to categorize 23 ready-to-eat food categories according to their comparative risk for harboring or developing listeria bacteria. Foods such as grain products, canned fruits and cooked dishes for which there have been few or no occurrences of foodborne listeriosis were excluded. Also excluded were eggs, which typically are cooked before consumption.

The 23 foods were placed in one of five risk categories. For operators, the key information is that the higher the risk associated with certain foods, the more closely their storage and handling should be monitored. Higher-risk foods especially must be kept refrigerated at or below 40F and the time they remain in storage must be as short as possible.

Identifying Greatest Risks
FSIS categorized relative risks of ready-to-eat foods as follows:

Very High Risk: deli meats and frankfurters (not reheated). These products have the highest incidence of listeria outbreaks and require most caution.

High Risk: pasteurized and unpasteurized fluid milk; pâté and meat spreads; soft unripened cheeses; and smoked seafoods. All can support listeria growth during extended refrigerated storage.

Moderate Risk: cooked crustaceans; deli salads; dry/semi-dry fermented sausages; reheated frankfurters; fresh soft cheeses; fruits; semisoft cheeses; soft ripened cheeses; and vegetables.

Low Risk: preserved fish and raw seafood. Because it has a relatively short shelf-life, raw seafood poses low risk.

Very Low Risk: cultured milk products; hard cheeses; ice cream and other frozen dairy products; and processed cheeses. These products have been subjected to bactericidal treatment and have little history of contamination. However, all products assessed by FSIS require refrigeration and temperature monitoring.

Displays are arranged to provide contrasts in colors and shapes and, in accordance with salad creation, begin with chilled plates; greens, ham, salami, rice and beans, crackers, breads, cheeses and dressings follow.

Designating employees to maintain the salad bar is a must. “If the salad area looks untidy or disorganized, it has an impact on the appetite,” says Clouse. “Customers like a sense of order and cleanliness. They want foods to look fresh and appetizing, and they want staff to wear spotless uniforms.’’

Lessons Learned
Creating a meal at a salad bar is one lunch choice for students in the Santa Monica-Malibu (Calif.) Unified School District. Each of the district’s 15 schools determines salad offerings, which change according to the ages and cultural diversity of student populations.

“Students like the variety and the fact that they don’t have to wait in line, as they do for hot foods,’’ says Tracie Thomas, food and nutrition director and supervisor of the district’s Farmers Market Salad Bar. The 5-year-old program relies on local growers for produce.

Each school has a salad-bar coordinator who works with volunteers to set up, maintain and clear it each day. Each bar consists of 15 containers on a bed of crushed ice that hold a variety items such as greens, ham and turkey cubes and grated cheese. Checked several times during lunch, food temperature is held at 41F.

“The big challenge is getting students to use utensils instead of fingers,’’ says Thomas. “The only competition for the salad bar is when we have pizza or chicken tenders on the menu.’’