The grocery store is my laboratory — or at least part of it.
I often find myself loitering around the deli counter, watching people order pound after pound of sliced roast beef or shaved turkey breast.
At one point a few years ago, I began chatting with one of the customers and politely commented that was a lot of deli meat she was ordering (really, there was a polite context).
She replied it was sandwiches for the kids for the next two weeks.
Uugh.
Yesterday, the Liverpool Daily Post reported U.K. environmental health officers from 42 local authorities purchased 1,127 samples of sliced-at-the-counter cooked meats from food retailers including butchers, delicatessens, market stalls and supermarkets.
Laboratory tests found that 15 per cent of the samples were contaminated with low numbers of listeria on the day of purchase, while 7.3 per cent were contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the more serious form of listeria.
Although these were within European Food Safety Standards, when the contaminated samples were tested again after storage for 48 hours in a refrigerator, the L. monocytogenes in some of the contaminated samples had multiplied to unsafe levels.
The tests were carried out at a fridge temperature of six degrees centigrade. However, many domestic fridges are warmer than this, allowing L. monocytogenes to grow faster.
Hugh Lamont, communications manager for the Health Protection Agency North West, said
“We are anxious to ensure that we do not create a scare around freshly sliced cooked meats. We are not saying that people should not buy or eat them, but rather that they should follow ‘use by’ advice where it is given – and consume the products within 48 hours where it is not. We are also reminding food retailers of the advice they should give to customers.”
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommendations for persons at high risk from listeria, such as pregnant women and persons with weakened immune systems, includes:
-Do not eat hot dogs, luncheon meats, or deli meats, unless they are reheated until steaming hot
-Avoid getting fluid from hot dog packages on other foods, utensils, and food preparation surfaces, and wash hands after handling hot dogs, luncheon meats, and deli meats
-Do not eat soft cheeses such as feta, Brie, and Camembert, blue-veined cheeses, or Mexican-style cheeses such as queso blanco, queso fresco, and Panela, unless they have labels that clearly state they are made from pastuerized milk
-Do not eat refrigerated pâtés or meat spreads. Canned or shelf-stable pâtés and meat spreads may be eaten
-Do not eat refrigerated smoked seafood, unless it is contained in a cooked dish, such as a casserole. Refrigerated smoked seafood, such as salmon, trout, whitefish, cod, tuna or mackerel, is most often labeled as "nova-style," "lox," "kippered," "smoked," or "jerky." The fish is found in the refrigerator section or sold at deli counters of grocery stores and delicatessens. Canned or shelf-stable smoked seafood may be eaten.
The USDA risk assessment for listeria is ready-to-eat foods is available at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/97-013F/ListeriaReport.pdf
and one from the World Health Organization is at
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/micro/mra_listeria/en/index.html