Symposium review: Recent advances in dairy food safety research: An overview of the National Dairy Council Listeria Consortium, industry identification, and funding of research gaps

Abstract

Consumers should have confidence that dairy foods are safe to eat. The Food Safety Committee of the Innovation Center for US Dairy (IC), created in 2010 to help processors collectively improve practices and reduce risks in dairy foods, is an industry-wide food safety collaboration that aims to protect the public through its mission to "Strengthen manufacturing practices in all dairy processing facilities and advance science-based tools to diminish food safety risks that could compromise the reputation of the U.S. dairy industry." The IC Listeria Research Consortium, a subset of the IC Food Safety Committee, funds research directed at creating new tools and practices to control Listeria in finished products and in manufacturing plants. This synopsis summarizes a presentation on the work conducted by the IC Food Safety Committee and research funded by the IC Listeria Research Consortium that was part of a symposium highlighting recent scientific findings and potential practical approaches to better control Listeria using science-based tools.