Risk assessment of Listeria monocytogenes in foods: part 2: Risk assessment: meeting report

Overview

The 52nd Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) requested the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) to undertake full production-to-consumption risk assessments of Listeria monocytogenes in foods to inform a possible revision of the Guidelines on the application of general principles of food hygiene to the control of Listeria monocytogenes in foods.

In response to this request, JEMRA convened a series of meetings to prepare and develop risk assessments for Listeria monocytogenes in various foods. Several risk assessment models were developed and evaluated to characterize the risk of listeriosis due to the consumption of diced ready-to-eat cantaloupe, frozen vegetables, and cold-smoked ready-to-eat fish. Additionally, an updated dose–response model for L. monocytogenes was developed.

This report describes the output of this expert meeting and the advice herein is useful for both risk assessors and risk managers, at national and international levels and those in the food industry working to control the hazard in foods.