September is National Food Safety Education Month. This is also a time to return to school and learning, so it is a good time to learn about food safety in ready-to-eat and perishable foods often packed in school lunches. Listeria is one of the most common foodborne bacteria and is found in a wide range of foods; from ready-to-eat to produce and meat. The latest draft guidance released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “Control of Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-To-Eat Foods,” supports ongoing efforts by industry and government agencies to reduce the risk of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods (1). The guidance includes recommendations for controls involving personnel, cleaning and maintenance of equipment, and sanitation, as well as for treatments that kill Listeria and prevent it from growing during storage of food between production and consumption. The guidance emphasizes the importance of routine testing for Listeria. Therefore, it is important to learn about the methods and reagents that can be used to detect Listeria to prevent foodborne outbreaks.

What is Zika? Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arbovirus that was first isolated in 1947 in a rhesus monkey from the Zika forest of Uganda. Until 2007, only 14 human cases were reported. The first large human outbreak occurred in 2007 (Yap Island, Micronesia, Pacific) followed by French Polynesia in 2013 that resulted in more than 30,000 cases. In early 2015, the virus came to international attention due to the outbreak in Brazil. Since then the epidemic has spread to more than 50 countries in the Caribbean, Central, and South America, causing tens of thousands of infections. ZIKV is transmitted to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus). These are the same mosquitoes that spread dengue and chikungunya. ZIKV can also be transmitted sexually and during pregnancy from the infected mother to the fetus.