Listeria monocytogenes is a member of the Listeria genus. Only L. monocytogenes appears to cause disease in humans. L. monocytogenes
is found everywhere in the environment and can survive for years in
soil, plants and water. It is often carried by animals and people. It
has been recovered from both raw and treated sewage.
Listeria spp. are non-fastidious bacterial, able to grow in
classical nutritive medium such as brain heart infusion, blood-added
gelosis or Luria broth. In these media, Listeria growth is stimulated by the addition of glucose.
One reason why listeriosis is such an important food-borne disease is
that the pathogen is environmentally ubiquitous, being common in food
plants including red meat and poultry abattoirs, as well as in meat
processing factories.
L. monocytogenes can colonize equipment, walls and floor surfaces
in plants, as it adheres to stainless steel, glass, rubber and
polypropylene. Incubation time for the illness to develop is 1 day to a
few weeks after ingestion.
Listeria monocytogenes
The Science Behind Baking Powder's Rise
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Baking powder revolutionized baking when it emerged in the early 1850s in
the United States, providing a convenient premixed leavening agent for
consumers....