Evaluation of Various Sanitation Methods for Listeria

Firs~ approximately twenty plants in the state ofK.entucIcy and surrounding states will be recruited to participate on a volunteer basis. University Extension personnel will conduct on..site visits and evaluate current sanitation programs and Good Manufacturing Practices (OMPs) to determine how products are processed from the receiving cooler throughout the facility. This process will attempt to identify any novel approaches to pathogen reduction that may have been. implemented at each plant independently. . Next, various sanitation programs will be conducted at the University of Kentncky Meat Science Processing facility and microbial testing conducted to determine effectiveness. Variants will include cleaners, concentrations, rotations, etc. Bnvironmental testing will include both contact and Don-contact surfaces for. generic bacteria and indicator organisms. Finally. a CD will be produced outlining recommended sanitation intervention programs which are economically feasible for small operations. This CD and related written materials will be personally distributed md explained, first at a group workshop with follow-up visits conducted quarterly. During quarterly visits, swabs will be collected to determine the efficacy of the intervention At the conclusion of the project, the CD will be released to USDA.