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The acidified calcium sulfate could give meat processors another method of intervention to increase the safety of their products, Keeton said, and several already want to test acidified calcium sulfate on their own products to see how effective it is.

Companies dont want to produce an unsafe product, because their reputation is on the line, he said, so if they can find intervention procedures through research and new technologies, its very important.

A summary of the research also has been sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety Inspection Service as a validation study to gain support for the use of this material. USDA is presently considering policies on how to control L. monocytogenes in processing plants.

In November, the USDA released an administrative directive outlining additional steps to be taken by its inspectors to ensure that establishments producing ready-to-eat meat and poultry products are taking the necessary steps to prevent contamination with Listeria.

Under the directive, plants producing high and medium risk ready-to-eat products such as deli meats and hot dogs that do not have an evaluated environmental testing regime designed to find and take necessary actions to eliminate Listeria, will be placed under an intensified testing program by USDAs Food Safety and Inspection Service. The program will consist of increased testing of the final product, and testing of food contact surfaces and plant environment.

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Contact: Dr. Jimmy Keeton
jkeeton@tamu.edu
979-845-3936
Texas A&M University - Agricultural Communications
2-Jan-2003