Listeriosis is associated with the consumption of dairy products,
unpasteurized cheese, deli meats, smoked salmon, and raw vegetables
(CDC 1998). A common characteristic of foods implicated in
listeriosis is that the consumer eats them without cooking (Norton
and Braden 2007). Many of these “ready to eat” foods have been
cooked, cured, or pasteurized during production but are susceptible
to contamination after processing (Wenger and others 1990).
L. monocytogenes is one of the most difficult organisms to control
in food processing plants because it has the ability to survive different
physicochemical conditions such as refrigeration