Listeria Laden Luncheon Meat

Last week, Winn-Dixie, a grocery store chain in the United States, recalled over 190,000 pounds of salami, bologna and ham. Examination of the meat indicated it contained a bacteria called Listeria monocytogenes (for a picture of the bacteria click here). Most healthy people don't have problems if infected with this bacteria. However, if a person is pregnant, immuno-compromised (e.g., persons immuno-compromised by corticosteroids, anticancer drugs, graft suppression therapy, AIDS, leukemic patients), or very young (newborn babies or babies in the womb), they can get very ill following a Listeria infection.

Usually infection with Listeria monocytogenes results in an infection called meningitis. Meningitis is an infection and swelling of the membranes (meninges) that surround our brains. These infections can be fatal. People with meningitis usually have a high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, and nausea. This bacteria can also infect the brain itself and cause a meningoencephalitis.

If a pregnant woman is infected with Listeria monocytogenes, the bacteria can infect her baby. Pregnant women may have only a mild, flu-like illness; however, infection during pregnancy can lead to premature delivery, infection of the newborn, or even stillbirth. In the United States about 1,900 people are seriously ill due to infection with this bacterium. Of these people, around 400 die from this infection.

Listeria monocytogenes is found normally in our intestines and does not cause disease. It is also in the intestines of many other mammals, birds, fish, and shellfish. However, if our food becomes contaminated with this bacterium, then certain people are very likely to become ill.

Listeria monocytogenes has been found in raw milk, improperly pasteurized fluid milk, cheeses (particularly soft ripened varieties), ice cream, raw vegetables, fermented raw meat sausages, raw and cooked poultry, raw meats (all types), and raw and smoked fish. It is able to grow at temperatures as low as 3 degrees Celsius (37.4 degree Fahrenheit). As a result, refrigeration of the foodstuffs will not keep Listeria monocytogenes from growing.

People infected with Listeria monocytogenes can be treated with antibiotics. In fact, if a pregnant woman is infected with Listeria monocytogenes, prompt treatment with antibiotics can prevent infection of her baby.

In my opinion, prevention is always better than having to treat an infection. You can prevent this infection in your house by following these recommendations:

1. Cook thoroughly raw food such as beef, pork, or poultry.
2. Wash raw vegetables thoroughly before eating.
3. Keep uncooked meats separate from vegetables and from cooked foods and ready-to-eat foods.
4. Avoid raw (unpasteurized) milk or foods (cheeses, yogurt, etc.) made from raw milk.
5. Wash hands, knives, and cutting boards after handling uncooked foods.
6. Use one cutting board for meats and a different cutting board for your
   The copyright of the article Listeria Laden Luncheon Meat in Microbiology is owned by Neal Rolfe Chamberlain. Permission to republish Listeria Laden Luncheon Meat in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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