Lifestyle of Listeria monocytogenes and food safety: Emerging listericidal technologies in the food industry

Abstract

Listeria monocytogenes, a causative agent of listeriosis, is a major foodborne pathogen. Among pathogens, L. monocytogenes stands out for its unique ecological and physiological characteristics. This distinct lifestyle of L. monocytogenes has a significant impact on food safety and public health, mainly through the ability of this pathogen to multiply at refrigeration temperature and to persist in the food processing environment. Due to a combination of these characteristics and emerging trends in consumer preference for ready-to-eat and minimally processed food, there is a need to develop effective and sustainable approaches to control contamination of food products with L. monocytogenes. Implementation of an efficient and reliable control strategy for L. monocytogenes must first address the problem of cross-contamination. Besides the preventive control strategies, cross-contamination may be addressed with the introduction of emerging post packaging non-thermal or thermal hurdles that can ensure delivery of a listericidal step in a packed product without interfering with the organoleptic characteristics of a food product. This review aims to present the most relevant findings underlying the distinct lifestyle of L. monocytogenes and its impact on food safety. We also discuss emerging food decontamination technologies that can be used to better control L. monocytogenes.

Keywords:

• Listeria monocytogenes
• cross-contamination
• Listeria outbreaks
• emerging listericidal technologies
• listericidal control measures

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the technical support from Daniela Vidovic.

Disclosure statement

There is no potential conflicting interest to report.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment through the Cawthron Institute’s Seafood Safety programme, contract CAWX1801.