Dear Oskar,
Last May, FAO organized a meeting on the trade impact of Listeria
monocytogenes in fish products. The report is available on line at :
http://www.fao.org/fi/publ/report/r604/r604e.asp
<http://www.fao.org/fi/publ/report/r604/r604e.asp>
or as a PDF file at :
http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/ECONOMIC/ESN/Listeria/Listeria.pdf
<http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/ECONOMIC/ESN/Listeria/Listeria.pdf>
To reply to your question :
Currently there is no international agreement on 'acceptable levels' of L.
monocytogenes in foods, including fishery products. In several countries,
criteria or recommendations for tolerable levels of L. monocytogenes in
ready-to-eat foods, have been established. Some countries like USA, Austria,
Australia, New Zealand and Italy require absence of L. monocytogenes in 25
g of foods (referred to as zero-tolerance). Other European countries
(e.g.Germany, Netherlands and France) have a tolerance of less than 100 cfu
g-1 at the point of consumption. Others (e.g. Canada and Denmark) have a
tolerance of less than 100 cfu g-1 for some foods and a zero-tolerance for
other foods, especially those with extended shelf-lives that can support the
growth of L. monocytogenes. In addition to differences in criteria for L.
monocytogenes, several countries use different sampling plans and
methodologies, which make matters more complex. Therefore, there is a need
to harmonize microbiological criteria for L. monocytogenes in foods at
international level, based on the principles of risk assessment.
While details on the policy on L. monocytogenes in all countries is not
available, examples from some countries are discussed in the report : USA,
Canada, Denmark.
Tha background papers prepared for the meeting which contain more detailed
information will be shortly published in a special issue of the
International Journal of Food Microbiology.
I hope this help.
With best regards
Peter
Peter Karim Ben Embarek
Fishery Industry Officer
Fish Utilization and Marketing service (FIIU), Fisheries Department,
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Via Delle Terme di Caracalla, 0100 Rome, Italy.
Phone : +39 06 570 55034 Fax : +39 06 570 55188 E.mail:
peter.benembarek@fao.org <mailto:peter.benembarek@fao.org>
URL : http://www.fao.org/fi <http://www.fao.org/fi/> ->
-----Original Message-----
From: Oskar Skulason [SMTP:oskar@hafro.is]
Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2000 11:15 AM
To: seafood@ucdavis.edu
Subject: Tolerance for L. monocytogenes
Does anyone have any information about the tolerance level for
Listeria
monocytogenes in the EU-countries?
It is different between countries and I think it is interesting to
compare
the differences within EU and the zero tolerance level in the U.S.
Kveðja / Best regards
Óskar Skúlason
-------------------------------------------------
Fiskistofa - Gæðastjórnunarsvið
Directorate of Fisheries - Quality Division
Ingólfsstræti 1
150 Reykjavík
Tel (354) 569 7900, fax (354) 569 7950
http://fiskistofa.is
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