USDA launches Listeria monocytogenes pilot project for deli retailers
On Jan. 25, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will launch a year-long nationwide pilot project to assess whether retailers are using the recommendations in the FSIS Best Practices Guidance for Controlling Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) in retail delicatessens.
As part of the pilot project, FSIS compliance investigators will complete a questionnaire, which will be used to assess practices in product handling, cleaning and sanitizing, facility and equipment controls and employee practices. FSIS will use these findings to determine whether retailers are following the Lm control measures recommended in the FSIS Retail Lm Guideline. Compliance investigators will discuss with retailers vulnerabilities that are observed during the survey, but FSIS will not be asking the retail operator to complete the survey.