USDA FSIS Releases Updated Best Practice Guidance for Listeria Control in Retail Delicatessens

USDA FSIS released an updated guidance document for controlling Listeria in retail delicatessens.

In the document, they point to four Listeria outbreaks that were linked to deli items.

• A 2022 outbreak in which the majority of ill people reported eating products sliced at the deli counter. The outbreak strain was identified in environmental samples  collected at a retail deli and several open packages of meats sliced at the deli. 
• A 2020 outbreak where epidemiologic evidence showed that Italian-style deli  meats was the likely source. The majority of ill people reported purchasing prepackaged deli meats and meats sliced at deli counters. Shopper records were used to help confirm these deli meats as the suspect vehicle; 
• A 2019 outbreak in which the majority of ill people reported eating products sliced  at the deli counter. The outbreak strain was identified in environmental samples  collected at multiple retail deli locations and in meat sliced at the deli; and 
• A 2018 outbreak associated with RTE ham products. Ham products were recalled by the manufacturer because of potential contamination with Lm. The  products were identified as being sold at retail delis and as the source of Lm illness that led to a recall.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/documents/FSIS-GD-2023-0004.pdf
FSIS Best Practices Guidance for Controlling Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) in Retail Delicatessens
June 2023
FSIS-GD-2023-0004

This guidance document provides information for retail firms. The guidance covers:

• Actions retailers can take in the delicatessen (deli) area to decrease the potential for Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) growth and cross-contamination;
• Steps retailers can take to help ensure that deli products are maintained under sanitary conditions that do not allow Lm  adulteration of the product; 
• Information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Code, scientific literature, other guidance documents, and lessons learned from meat and poultry establishments that retailers can use to control Lm; and
• Helpful tools that retail firms can use to identify potential gaps in current best practice procedures

Changes from The Previous Version of the Guideline
This guideline, dated June 2023, is final. FSIS will update this guideline as necessary, as new information becomes available.

FSIS made the following changes to this guideline to reflect the comments received on
the previous version during the comment period, as well as provide additional scientific
information.
This version incorporates the following changes:

• The Interagency Risk Assessment—Listeria monocytogenes in Retail Delicatessens findings have been removed, and can be found using the hyperlink on page 3;
• Removed the recommendation that retailers should rotate (change) sanitizers;
• Added the following sections: Sources of Listeria in Retail Firms, Active Managerial Control, and Risk Mitigation of Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) in Retail Firms;
• Relocated the Deli Self-Assessment Tool to the Appendices; and
• Added a Glossary to the Appendices