It’s an unfortunate fact that food recalls still occur too often. And with the FDA’s focus on ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, the dairy industry is no exception. For example, there have been more than 20 recalls of various types of cheeses due to Listeria monocytogenes concerns thus far in 2017.
The pathogen of most interest to the dairy industry from an environmental viewpoint is Listeria monocytogenes, due to the selective nature of the cold wet environments associated with the industry. However, if the conditions of the environment are warmer or even drier (think spray-dried dairy products), Salmonella must also be considered.