Listeria Contamination Linked to Storage & Cleaning Equipment
Russ Baldwin | Oct 19, 2011 | Comments 0
The FDA confirmed today, October 19, that packing equipment and cold storage areas at Jensen Farms in Granada tested positive for listeria contamination. The first indications were that the contamination developed from the produce fields owned by Jensen Farms in Holly.
In a letter to Jensen Farms, the FDA states, “During the September 10 inspection, FDA sampled cantaloupes from cases on four pallets in the cold storage in your packing facility. FDA conducted laboratory analyses, including pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (“PFGE”), on these samples. Five of the ten cantaloupes FDA analyzed were positive for Listeria monocytogenes.”
The letter continued, “During the inspection, we also collected environmental swabs from various locations and surfaces throughout your packing facility. FDA conducted laboratory analyses which determined that 13 of the 39 total environmental swabs were positive for outbreak strains of Listeria monocytogenes. PFGE analysis determined that eleven of the positive swabs matched the strain of Listeria monocytogenes represented by cluster #2, one positive swab matched the strain of Listeria monocytogenes represented by cluster #4, and one positive swab matched the strain of Listeria monocytogenes represented by cluster #3. Further, one swab was positive for a strain of Listeria monocytogenes that did not match any of the outbreak strains. These positive swabs were taken from different locations throughout the washing and packing areas in your facility, all of which were either food contact surfaces or areas adjacent to food contact surfaces. This significant percentage of swabs that tested positive for outbreak strains of Listeria monocytogenes demonstrates widespread contamination throughout your facility and indicates poor sanitary practices in the facility.” The letter is available through the FDA website.
The FDA stated that Jensen Farms had recently purchased used equipment which was corroded and hard to clean and showed signs of dirt and product build-up even after it had been broken apart, cleaned and sanitized. The report added that the equipment had been used to clean potatoes and may have developed listeria contamination at that point. Another potential source of contamination could have come from a truck that transported cantaloupe to a nearby cattle operation that was parked near the facility.
Jensen Farms pulled their entire cantaloupe harvest from the markets in early September. To date, there have been 123 illnesses reported nationwide and 25 deaths from listeria contamination.
Filed Under: Agriculture • Business • community • Economy • Featured • Granada • Health • Holly • Public Safety • The Journal Alert
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