Assessment of control measures to achieve a food safety objective of less than 100 CFU of Listeria monocytogenes per gram at the point of consumption for fresh precut iceberg lettuce.
The important new concept of the food safety objective (FSO) offers a strategy to translate public health risk into a definable goal such as a specified maximum frequency or concentration of a hazardous agent in a food at the time of consumption that is deemed to provide an appropriate level of health protection. For the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, there is a proposed FSO of < 100 CFU/g in ready-to-eat (RTE) products at the time of consumption. Fresh precut iceberg lettuce is one of these RTE products. In this study, we worked with a commercial manufacturer to evaluate the effectiveness of two antimicrobial washing agents (sodium hypochlorite and a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and peroxyacetic acid) against L. monocytogenes under simulated fresh precut washing conditions and evaluated the growth potential of this pathogen on lettuce packaged in a gas-permeable film and stored at 4 or 8 degrees C for 14 days. We used the results of this experiment to demonstrate how the commercial manufacturer could meet the FSO for L. monocytogenes in fresh precut lettuce through the application of performance, process, and microbiological criteria.
Szabo
E A
EA
Food Science Australia, P.O. Box 52, North Ryde, New South Wales 1670, Australia. lisa.szabo@foodscience.afisc.csiro.au
Simons
L
L
Coventry
M J
MJ
Cole
M B
MB
D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D018545:Lactuca / Q000382:microbiology*; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D010463:Peracetic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D012973:Sodium Hypochlorite; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors
D004202:Disinfectants; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D012973:Sodium Hypochlorite; D010463:Peracetic Acid