Today, Dr. Sanjay Gummalla, Senior Vice President of Food Safety and Scientific Affairs for the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI), participated in FDA’s public meeting on Listeria monocytogenes prevention, where he emphasized the importance of data collection, environmental monitoring, and continuous improvement in strengthening food safety outcomes. He highlighted the opportunity to generate additional data on L. monocytogenes environmental persistence and contamination in facilities producing foods that do not support the growth of the pathogen, better understand contamination pathways, evaluate prevention strategies, and identify approaches that can further reduce risk.Â
“FDA has asked stakeholders to identify additional approaches to strengthen Listeria monocytogenes prevention,” said Gummalla. “AFFI believes data generation should be part of that conversation. The more we understand about persistence, environmental conditions, corrective actions, and facility performance, the better equipped we are to identify risks earlier and strengthen prevention efforts.” Â
“There is an opportunity to generate meaningful data that can advance our collective understanding of prevention, support continuous improvement, and help inform future food safety strategies. This is particularly relevant as we consider managing risks in foods that do not support growth of L. monocytogenes. We look forward to working with FDA and other stakeholders on approaches that encourage learning and enhance public health protection.”Â
AFFI and its members have long been committed to advancing food safety and strengthening industry practices for the prevention and control of Listeria monocytogenes. Through AFFI’s Food Safety Zone, the association provides science-based guidance, educational resources, technical tools, and industry best practices that support environmental monitoring, sanitation, hygienic design, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement. Learn more at affi.org/safety.
