Food Northwest Declares War on Listeria

Food Northwest announces its declaration of war on Listeria contamination in food facilities and shares two tools now available for industry use.

Portland, OR. January 5, 2017:Listeria is ubiquitous in the environment and extremely hard to eradicate once established in food facilities,” said David McGiverin, President of Food Northwest, “but we are committed to putting it on the Endangered Species List.”

According to Debbie Radie, VP of Operations at Boardman Foods and Chairman of the Food Northwest Board of Directors, “Listeria is top-of-mind for the food industry, its customers, and consumers. It is a dangerous pathogen and has no place in the food supply. Food Northwest’s Listeria control tools bring the food processing community together to devise the most relevant strategies to winning the war on Listeria.”

Food Northwest has developed a stable of tools to assist food and beverage processors with their Listeria control needs, including two unveiled this week:

Food Northwest Listeria Control Checklist V2.0

This new version, revised from the 2016 V1.1, reflects the latest FDA guidance and best practices for the frozen vegetable industry, which has been plagued with Listeria recalls in recent years.

“This new checklist was developed by food processors for food processors,” Ms. Radie said. “Food processors in all sectors with concerns about Listeria contamination will find this checklist helpful in assessing program gaps. It will be a regularly-updated resource as best practices are designed and implemented.”

Mark Hooper, Senior Director at Pinnacle Foods, former Chairman of the Board, and member of the Listeria Task Force, explained, “In addition to providing an internal audit tool, this checklist will provide a valuable instrument for buyers to use in their supplier verification audits. It puts vendor and customer on the same page.”

The Listeria Control Checklist V2.0 is now available for download here.

Sanitary Design Made Simple for the Rest of Us

This unique publication is designed to bring key sanitary design principles, the basis of Listeria control, to the food industry’s workforce. This easy-to-use visual guide was developed by food safety experts as an educational tool for production facility employees. The document illustrates basic concepts for designing and restoring food equipment, so they can be cleaned more efficiently and effectively to control Listeria. The guidance tool is part of a three-year project supported by the Oregon Department of Agriculture to advance a mutual understanding of sanitary design among the food industry and its equipment and infrastructure partners.

Print copies will be available at Northwest Food and Beverage World 2018, January 8-10 in Portland, or download here.