The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is investigating a listeriosis outbreak involving five illnesses and three deaths. Desserts served at healthcare facilities are being considered as the potential vehicle of illness. The desserts tested positive for low levels of Listeria monocytogenes, but have not been confirmed as the source of the outbreak.
This episode of Food Safety Five discusses two recent scientific studies that are advancing the food industry’s understanding of and ability to address Listeria monocytogenes, including new findings about the pathogen’s behavior in biofilms and a developing rapid detection method.
Excellence in food safety for meat and poultry, from the farm to the processing plant, encompasses a number of steps to eliminate threats like Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, foreign material, and spoilage organisms that prematurely limit shelf life.
A recent study demonstrated the ability of Listeria monocytogenes to colonize a preexisting multispecies biofilm within a matter of hours and survive within the biofilm over time, without significantly altering the community structure or the overall matrix composition.
A new study conducted by Canadian Food Inspection Agency scientists demonstrates the capability of a streamlined workflow to detect low-level presence of Listeria monocytogenes in food samples within eight hours.
According to FDA, between 2018 and 2025, 38 people have been sickened and 12 have died across 21 states after consuming Listeria monocytogenes-contaminatedSysco Imperial and Lyons ReadyCare Frozen Supplemental Shakesthat wereserved at long-term care facilities and hospitals.
On February 13, Boar’s Head designated a companywide ‘Boar’s Head Food Safety Promise Day’ and unveiled new safety and sanitation controls and processes, following the fatal listeriosis outbreak linked to its products in 2024.
According to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s (PIRG’s) Food for Thought 2025 report, hospitalizations and deaths linked to foodborne illnesses doubled in 2024. Illnesses also increased, 98 percent of which were attributed to just 13 outbreaks. The number of USDA and FDA recalls decreased by 5 percent.
A recent report from the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) summarizes the development of formal risk assessment models for Listeria monocytogenes in leafy greens, cantaloupe, frozen vegetables, and ready-to-eat (RTE) seafood.
USDA-FSIS published a summary of its review of the deadly Boar’s Head Listeria monocytogenes outbreak, along with newly announced long-term measures to review and modernize its L. monocytogenes regulations and ready-to-eat (RTE) sampling programs.
