Infrastructure, sanitation, and management practices impact Listeria monocytogenes prevalence in retail grocery produce environments

Publication date: Available online 20 September 2019Source: Food ControlAuthor(s): Sophie Tongyu Wu, John Burnett, Jingjin Wang, Susan R. Hammons, Deklin R. Veenhuizen, Haley F. OliverAbstractWe designed and implemented a comprehensive survey of facilities, management practices, and cleaning and sanitizing frequencies in 30 United States grocery retail produce departments to evaluate Listeria monocytogenes control strategies. Produce department managers completed the survey during a six-month longitudinal study of L. monocytogenes on food and non-food contact surfaces in retail produce departments. L. monocytogenes prevalence in each store was compared to survey responses both overall and by surface type. Pearson correlation and ANOVA were used to identify significant survey variables associated with L. monocytogenes prevalence. Tukey pairwise comparisons were conducted to elucidate the nature of significant effects (α = 0.05). Pooled water near misted produce case drain covers and lack of disposable glove changing oversight after touching non-food-contact surfaces (NFCS) significantly correlated with higher L. monocytogenes prevalence overall (p = 0.01, p = 0.002), on food-contact surfaces (FCS; p = 0.001, p = 0.01) and NFCS (p = 0.04, p = 0.003). Cleanability of bottom dry produce shelf, changing gloves after handling each type of produce, and selecting lateral role models among employment strongly correlated with lower L. monocytogenes prevalen...
Source: Food Control - Category: Food Science Source Type: research