Food Safety and Inspection Service May 13, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)/Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)/Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) are announcing the availability of the draft ``Interagency Risk AssessmentListeria monocytogenes in Retail Delicatessens.'' This draft quantitative risk assessment (QRA) includes an Interpretive Summary and a Technical Report. The purpose of the draft QRA is to evaluate the conditions, such as Listeria (L.) monocytogenes contamination of certain ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, for example cheese, deli meats, and deli salads; in the retail deli environment; in niches (a harborage site); or on incoming RTE foods, that contribute to cross- contamination and ultimately, to the risk of listeriosis. The draft QRA makes it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of some retail practices and intervention strategies in reducing the predicted risk of listeriosis from some RTE foods that are sliced, packaged, or prepared in retail delicatessens and consumed in the home.