1. Chef Kassi

2. What is it? Listeria Monocytogenes is a serious infection with high hospitalization rates.

3. Symptoms After a person digests Listeria it can take anywhere from 3 to 70 days, but the average is 21 days. A person with listeriosis may develop fever, muscle aches, and sometimes gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea or diarrhea. If infection spreads to the nervous system, symptoms such as headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or convulsions. In immune- deficient individuals, Listeria can invade the central nervous system, causing meningitis and/or encephalitis (brain infection). Infected pregnant women ordinarily experience only a mild, flu-like illness; however, infection during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, infection of the newborn or even stillbirth.

4. Foods that could have Listeria Listera is found in soil,water, meats and dairy products,food processing factory, raw foods, such as uncooked meats and vegetables, processed meats such as hot dogs and deli meat and smoked seafood, unpasteurized (raw) milk and cheeses Listeria is killed by pasteurization and cooking; however, in some ready-to-eat foods, such as hot dogs and deli meats, contamination may occur after factory cooking but before packaging. Unlike most bacteria, Listeria bacteria can grow and multiply in some foods in the refrigerator.

5. How does it get in foods People can become ill from eating raw meat from a animal that had Listeria. People can get listeria from processed foods that have been contaminated in a factory. People can become ill after eating raw vegetables that were grown in contaminated soil.

6. How Listeria can be prevented Wash your hands before handling raw vegetables and wash the vegetables good. Don’t cross-contaminate raw meats with vegetables. Cook meat at the right temperature. Keep the refrigerator as cold as possible and limit the time you keep food that could have Listeria in the fridge.

8. Work Cited http://www.ucc.ie/microbio/4thIM0004.png\ http://www.listeriosisprevention.com/prevention.htm l http://www.listeriosisprevention.com/prevention.htm l http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases /listeriosis/ http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases /listeriosis/ http://www.about- listeria.com/listeria_symptoms_risks http://www.about- listeria.com/listeria_symptoms_risks http://www.ecolab.com/PublicHealth/Listeria.asp