Edinburgh Napier University

  Listeria monocytogenes is a ubiquitous environmental bacterium which has the potential to cause serious illness and even death after infection. A potential source of infection by L. monocytogenes is ready to eat (RTE) food which includes fresh vegetables and fruit. Due to significant consumer risk, the RTE food industry is subject to increasing internal and external regulation to control contamination of products by L. monocytogenes. Research is urgently needed to understand more about the survival of L. monocytogenes in horticultural soils so that the growing environment can be managed appropriately to reduce the risk of such contamination