February 7, 2008 | Posted By Pritzker | Ruohonen | Comments | print this article

FDA Changes Listeria Policy On Certain RTE Foods

listeria-bacteria-2.jpgThe 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.

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