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Agencies To Meet With Public on Listeria

By PritzkerLaw

Little is known about how Listeria monocytogenes occurs in retail facilities. That's why the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is teaming up with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate a risk assessment of the problem.

A public meeting is set for June 23 in Washington to discuss the scope and objectives of the project, which will focus on retail handling of cheeses, ready-to-eat meats and deli-type salads. It is assumed that certain retail practices may result in either cross-contamination from one product to another or through contamination from the retail environment itself.

The goal is to identify the hazards and devise interventions to control the pathogen.

Listeria monocytogenes killed 22 people in Canada last year in a major infectious disease outbreak caused by ready-to-eat deli meat made in Toronto. The organism causes Listeriosis, a disease that starts with flu-like symptoms and can sometimes bring on loss of balance, severe headaches, confusion or convulsions.

With Listeriosis, the onset of illness after consumption of contaminated food can take three weeks. Healthy adults rarely require medical treatment for infections, but Listeria monocytogenes is a dangerous health threat to pregnant women, young children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems. Listeria in pregnant women can cause stillbirth and miscarriage.

If your or someone you know has contracted Listeria monocytogenes, our law firm, PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is one of the few in the country that practices extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation.  To contact a Listeria lawyer at our firm, call 1-800-377-8900 (Toll Free) or write to us online for a free case consultation. We have years of experience and prove success, collecting tens of million for victims of Listeria and other  types of food poisoning.

The public meeting in Washington regarding a risk assessment for Listeria at the retail level will be held Tuesday, June 23, 2009, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, 480 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, DC 20024. Pre-registration is encouraged, with details availble in the FSIS press release.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on June 07, 2009 (boomark / email).