Are Listeria Infections On The Rise?
By Melissa Lind, contributing writer
The Food Safety Lawyer, Bill Marler, has expressed concerns about what he sees as an increasing trend in Listeria outbreaks in food.
In several interviews with news agencies, Bill Marler, a lawyer specializing in representing victims affected by Listeriosis, has indicated that a large concern of food-contamination events involving Listeria revolves around frozen foods. Cold foods, such as ice cream, may remain in freezers for months and Listeria thrives in both room temperature and cold temperatures. Further, Listeria can take up to 70 days for adverse health effects to occur after ingestion, which raises the question, “are more Listeriosis cases on the horizon?”
The most-recent Listeria outbreak, involving Blue Bell Ice Cream, affected five people in Kansas and resulted in three deaths. State officials have determined that Listeriosis was not the only cause of death but was a contributing factor. This is the second Listeria outbreak of 2015, the first of which involved caramel apples and affected over 30 people in 11 states. In the Blue Bell case, three out of five victims have died but state officials have said that Listeriosis was not the sole cause, only a contributing factor in the deaths.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) maintains a partnership with state agencies known as the Listeria Initiative which helps the agency quickly identify sources of contamination. The Blue Bell incident has been traced to a single piece of equipment and the company quickly responded by recalling possibly-contaminated products immediately after discovery and dismantling responsible equipment.
Blue Bell’s CEO was quick to acknowledge that lack of proper sanitization was responsible for the Listeria outbreaks. Marler says he thought Blue Bell had responded appropriately once it knew its products were linked to illnesses, but was critical of the company’s website statement which did not include specifics about number of victims or the deaths.
Recent advances have occurred in food-safety regulations with the 2011 signing of the Food Safety Modernization Act. FSMA sections have been implemented in stages since initiation and the final regulations are set to be in force over the next 14 months. FSMA requirements have shifted the focus in food safety from one of responding to events to one of prevention.
FSMA affects the food industry at every level and requires that every member establish and implement measures for safety procedures, including supply chain track and trace, which allows companies to quickly respond to contamination events, similar to Blue Bell.