Chr Hansen keeps listeria bugs at bay
Chr Hansen is offering manufacturers of ready to eat cooked meats and fresh cheeses an effective weapon against listeria with the launch of a new addition to its SafePro bio-protective range of cultures.
The new lactic acid bacteria culture, B-LC-48, is being launched at the Food Ingredients Europe exhibition in London, and will help companies fight listeria without having to resort to synthetic preservatives. As manufacturers come under pressure to reduce salt in their products, ensuring microbiological safety in cooked meats without using additives has moved to the top of the priority list for many companies, said Chr Hansen. "Listeria is an increasingly critical issue and a problem to which many food producers have been seeking new solutions."
The launch follows reports highlighting a rising incidence of listeriosis across Europe.
In a recent UK survey, 190 out of 2,981 samples of vacuum-and modified atmosphere- packed cooked meats at the end of shelf-life were contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, and 27 samples had levels above 100 colony-forming units per gramme (cfu/g).
