FDA Summarizes Listeria Prevention Strategy for Soft Fresh Queso Fresco-Type Cheeses
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will release a new prevention strategy aimed at reducing foodborne listeriosis cases and outbreaks associated with the consumption of fresh, soft Queso Fresco-type (QFT) cheeses, and has provided a summary of the upcoming document.
During 2014–2017, FDA’s Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation (CORE) network investigated five listeriosis outbreaks linked to the consumption of fresh, soft QFT cheeses. Most recently, in 2021 CORE investigated an outbreak linked to fresh, soft cheeses that sickened 13 people. Historically, outbreaks associated with QFT cheeses have been associated with unpasteurized milk; however, recent investigations have also linked listeriosis outbreaks to QFT cheeses made from pasteurized milk that was contaminated during the cheese making process. In the February/March 2023 issue of Food Safety Magazine, officials from FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provide an in-depth analysis of recent notable listeriosis outbreaks linked to fresh, soft QFT cheeses in the U.S.