FSMA Fridays: FDA Listeria Guidance (Part Two Of Five)

View the entire webcast or read part one of this series

In part one of FSMA Fridays: FDA Listeria Guidance, SafetyChain Software’s VP of Marketing, Jill Bender was joined by The Acheson Group’s (TAG) CEO and Founder Dr. David Acheson to discuss his thoughts on the latest news from the FDA and FSMA. Here, in part two, the duo begins discussing the FDA’s Listeria Guidance.

Jill: David, why is the FDA focusing on Listeria?

David: Well, I think you've kind of got to be “asleep at the switch,” “under a rock,” or whatever the euphemism is, not to have noticed recall after recall after recall linked to Listeria in the environment, Listeria in products. And obviously, sadly, some situations where there's been some fairly significant outbreaks and public health risk from Listeria in certain foods. But to your point, the question, why Listeria?

Interesting pathogen, the Centers for Disease Control report about 2,500 cases a year of Listeriosis. Just to get a little medical on everybody, Listeriosis is essentially when the disease actually manifests itself in people. And as we all know, it's typically the elderly, the immune-compromised or the fetuses of pregnant women that are particularly susceptible. But 2,500 cases a year. Contrast that with salmonella, where it's about a million. So, whoa. That's a big difference. So why all the focus on Listeria?