Listeria is in the news again.  At least 16 people became sick after eating sliced meat or cheese from a deli. People in 6 states, including 2 people from Illinois, were affected.  Sick people were between 38 and 72 years old, and 62% were men. There are probably more cases than those 16 since an infection of Listeria usually has mild symptoms and lasts only a few days.  However, if the Listeria spreads within the body, or the person who is sick is at high risk of foodborne illness, Listeria can be deadly. Thirteen people were hospitalized, and one of the 16 people infected in this outbreak died.  Another woman had a miscarriage.

 Most bacteria will not grow in the refrigerator, but Listeria will. Be sure to buy only the amount of deli meat you can use in two weeks or less.  And think about how many times that roll of deli meat was out of the refrigerator into the danger zone, and then back into the refrigerator and out in the danger zone again.  Refrigeration does not kill bacteria, just keeps most of them from growing.  Bacteria on the food when it goes in the refrigerator can just keep growing when they warm up.

 Listeria can live on surfaces as well as in food.  This outbreak may have been due to Listeria in contaminated food spreading to slicers and/or counter surfaces. It is important to clean and sanitize those areas even if just a few slices were cut.

Of course, clean hands are very important. If you cover those clean hands with gloves, be sure the gloves stay clean. It’s easy to just quickly grab something you forgot, or to touch a surface such as your phone or your glasses, forgetting that those “clean” gloves are now contaminated and need to be changed.