FDA Announces Public Meeting to Assess Listeria Prevention in Ready-to-Eat Foods

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a June 23, 2009, public meeting to present the background, approach, scope, and data needed for a recently initiated interagency risk assessment of Listeria in some ready-to-eat foods that are sliced, prepared or packaged in retail facilities. Several agencies, including the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), are conducting the risk assessment to determine the effects that current practices and potential interventions to prevent Listeria have on public health. See Federal Register, June 9, 2009.