FDA Changes Listeria Policy On Certain RTE Foods
The FDA will be revising policy regulations on Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods to distinguish between RTE foods that support Listeria growth and those that do not. Currently there is a “zero tolerance” standard for all RTE foods, allowing zero colony forming units per gram of food (cfu/g). The new standard will allow RTE foods that do not support Listeria growth to have 100 cfu/g of food.
The FDA will be publishing a Compliance Policy Guide which will define RTE foods that do not support Listeria growth according to the following criteria:
- The pH of the food is less than or equal to 4.4; or
- Is customarily held and consumed in a frozen state; or
- The water activity of the food is less than or equal to 0.92; or
- Is processed using an effective listeristatic control measure
The FDA will continue to have a “zero tolerance” policy for RTE foods that do support Listeria growth, which allows up to 0.04 cfu/g of food. RTE foods that do not support Listeria growth will be modified to allow up to 100 cfu/g of food. The new policy is similar to those in Europe and Canada, however the USDA’s FSIS has not yet changed their “zero tolerance” policy.