Listeria monocytogenes in Fresh Produce: Outbreaks, Prevalence and Contamination Levels

Zhu, Qi; Gooneratne, Ravi; Hussain, Malik Asif

doi:10.3390/foods6030021

Cited by 231 publications

(171 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…Leafy-green vegetables are responsible for a high number of reported cases (17,446 cases; 23.9% of total), particularly salad (MacDonald et al, 2012(MacDonald et al, , 2016Vestrheim et al, 2016;Wadamori et al, 2017) and lettuce (Abanyie et al, 2015;Wadamori et al, 2017;Zhu, Gooneratne, & Hussain, 2017). Leafy-green vegetables are susceptible to contamination by contaminated irrigation water (Kapperud et al, 1995;Mercanoglu Taban & Halkman, 2011), as the edible part of the plants is exposed to pathogenic microorganisms present in water.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial Contamination of Fresh Produce: What, Where, and How?

Machado-Moreira

Richards

Brennan

et al. 2019

Comp Rev Food Sci Food Safe

185

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Promotion of healthier lifestyles has led to an increase in consumption of fresh produce. Such foodstuffs may expose consumers to increased risk of foodborne disease, as often they are not subjected to processing steps to ensure effective removal or inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms before consumption. Consequently, reports of ready‐to‐eat fruit and vegetable related disease outbreak occurrences have increased substantially in recent years, and information regarding these events is often not readily available. Identifying the nature and source of microbial contamination of these foodstuffs is critical for developing appropriate mitigation measures to be implemented by food producers. This review aimed to identify the foodstuffs most susceptible to microbial contamination and the microorganisms responsible for disease outbreaks from information available in peer‐reviewed scientific publications. A total of 571 outbreaks were identified from 1980 to 2016, accounting for 72,855 infections and 173 deaths. Contaminated leafy green vegetables were responsible for 51.7% of reported outbreaks. Contaminated soft fruits caused 27.8% of infections. Pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli and Salmonella, norovirus, and hepatitis A accounted for the majority of cases. Large outbreaks resulted in particular biases such as the observation that contaminated sprouted plants caused 31.8% of deaths. Where known, contamination mainly occurred via contaminated seeds, water, and contaminated food handlers. There is a critical need for standardized datasets regarding all aspects of disease outbreaks, including how foodstuffs are contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. Providing food business operators with this knowledge will allow them to implement better strategies to improve safety and quality of fresh produce.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial Contamination of Fresh Produce: What, Where, and How?

Machado-Moreira

Richards

Brennan

et al. 2019

Comp Rev Food Sci Food Safe

185

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“…A detailed review of L. monocytogenes outbreaks and prevalence associated with fresh produce is provided by Zhu et al . ().…”

Section: The Structure Of the Flpscmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Several reports have demonstrated L. monocytogenes presence in a wide variety of fresh produce samples (Zhu et al . ) and other minimally processed foods. Other than a potentially tragic loss of life, the economic consequences of a L. monocytogenes outbreak are significant due to a loss of consumer confidence and subsequent drop in product sales and related value (McCollum et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sources and survival ofListeria monocytogeneson fresh, leafy produce

Smith

Moorhouse²,

Monaghan

et al. 2018

J Appl Microbiol

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Listeria monocytogenes is an intracellular human pathogen which enters the body through contaminated food stuffs and is known to contaminate fresh leafy produce such as spinach, lettuce and rocket. Routinely, fresh leafy produce is grown and processed on a large scale before reaching the consumer through various products such as sandwiches and prepared salads. From farm to fork, the fresh leafy produce supply chain (FLPSC) is complex and contains a diverse range of environments where L. monocytogenes is sporadically detected during routine sampling of produce and processing areas. This review describes sources of the bacteria in the FLPSC and outlines the physiological and molecular mechanisms behind its survival in the different environments associated with growing and processing fresh produce. Finally, current methods of source tracking the bacteria in the context of the food supply chain are discussed with emphasis on how these methods can provide additional, valuable information on the risk that L. monocytogenes isolates pose to the consumer.

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“…One major concern in the last two decades, in many parts of the world, is the recognition of fresh produce as vehicles in during foodborne disease outbreaks [2,3,4]. Between 2011 and 2013, there were 170 alert notifications by the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) in the European Union (EU) concerning pathogenic microorganisms in fruits and vegetables [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review on the Rising Prevalence of International Standards: Threats or Opportunities for the Agri-Food Produce Sector in Developing Countries, with a Focus on Examples from the MENA Region

Faour-Klingbeil¹,

Todd²

2018

Foods

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Food safety standards are a necessity to protect consumers’ health in today’s growing global food trade. A number of studies have suggested safety standards can interrupt trade, bringing financial and technical burdens on small as well as large agri-food producers in developing countries. Other examples have shown that economical extension, key intermediaries, and funded initiatives have substantially enhanced the capacities of growers in some countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to meet the food safety and quality requirements, and improve their access to international markets. These endeavors often compensate for the weak regulatory framework, but do not offer a sustainable solution. There is a big gap in the food safety level and control systems between countries in the MENA region and those in the developed nations. This certainly has implications for the safety of fresh produce and agricultural practices, which hinders any progress in their international food trade. To overcome the barriers of legal and private standards, food safety should be a national priority for sustainable agricultural development in the MENA countries. Local governments have a primary role in adopting the vision for developing and facilitating the implementation of their national Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) standards that are consistent with the international requirements and adapted to local policies and environment. Together, the public and private sector’s support are instrumental to deliver the skills and infrastructure needed for leveraging the safety and quality level of the agri-food chain.

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Listeria monocytogenes in Fresh Produce: Outbreaks, Prevalence and Contamination Levels

Cited by 231 publications

References 71 publications

Microbial Contamination of Fresh Produce: What, Where, and How?

Microbial Contamination of Fresh Produce: What, Where, and How?

Sources and survival ofListeria monocytogeneson fresh, leafy produce

A Review on the Rising Prevalence of International Standards: Threats or Opportunities for the Agri-Food Produce Sector in Developing Countries, with a Focus on Examples from the MENA Region

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