FDA CONSUMER HEALTH INFORMATION - Keep Listeria Out of Your Kitchen

SILVER SPRING, Md., Sept. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- If you eat food contaminated with bacteria called Listeria, you could get so sick that you have to be hospitalized. And for certain vulnerable people, the illness could be fatal.

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Unlike most bacteria, Listeria germs can grow and spread in the refrigerator. So if you unknowingly refrigerate Listeria-contaminated food, the germs could infect the other foods there and increase the likelihood that you and your family will become sick.

A multi-state outbreak of listeriosis—the illness caused by Listeria—tied to contaminated cantaloupes has caused illnesses and deaths. Listeria has also been linked to a variety of ready-to-eat foods.

To keep yourself and your family safe, make sure your refrigerator is set at 40 degrees F or less; carefully clean all food preparation surfaces; and wash all fruits and vegetables before eating.

Get more advice on how to keep Listeria and other germs at bay at

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm274114.htm

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Media Contact: Douglas Karas, 301-796-2805, [email protected]

SOURCE U.S. Food and Drug Administration