Microbiologist addresses industry workshop in Moncton

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Food processing companies are paying more attention than ever to their products and grocery shoppers are also more careful when they are buying food, a leading microbiologist said in Moncton yesterday.

Elena Connors, the founder of Impact Microbiology Services of Fredericton and an expert in listeria, spoke during a one-day workshop at the Atlantic Food and Beverage Processors office in Moncton.

The workshop attracted representatives from 24 processing companies and most had questions about the late summer listeriosis outbreak, associated with the deaths of 18 Canadians, that was linked to a Maple Leaf Foods meat-processing plant near Toronto.

"The key to getting these questions answered is education," Connors said. "Once people in the industry learn more about it, the more they realize there are things they can do about it and this doesn't have to happen again."

Connors, a listeria expert who has run her microbiology company for 25 years while serving as a consultant to the food industry, said listeria can survive in difficult conditions and temperature changes of just one or two degrees can make the difference between whether the bacteria lives or dies.

Listeria is a non-spore forming bacteria so it can be destroyed through pasteurization, she said.

"There are people who have worked in the food industry for a long time and they have not been educated," Connors said.

"As long as we know how to deal with it, we can be safe. We must learn from the recent listeria outbreak so that we can protect our people from another outbreak."

Connors urged consumers to check their refrigerators often.

"Companies are safer than ever. In my own house, I have seen a package of meat that has been open for a week then I wonder if it is safe to eat. Check it! Check the date! "Consumers have to be vigilant and so does industry."