Identification of routes and mechanisms for distribution and establishment of Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria spp. in avocado packing environments

This proposal focuses on the study of the potential for Listeria monocytogenes (LM) to contaminate fresh avocados during postharvest processing at packing plants that practice dry packing, which consists of completing the avocado packing without any washes or wet treatment. These practices are interesting, since commonly, the cleaning and sanitizing procedures followed are based on wet cleaning and sanitizing, which may introduce some moisture in the environment, favoring the attachment and potential growth of pathogens such as (LM). The project aims at determining how current sanitation practices affect the ability of LM to colonize the packing plant environments. Information on the impact of environmental factors such as air humidity and temperature at different locations of the avocado packing plant on the ability to maintain an adequate level of sanitation is scarce. This project aims at evaluating the impact of current sanitation practices at dry avocado packing plants on the ability of LM to colonize the packing plant environment and the areas of the plant that potentially facilitate harborage at avocado dry packing plants (ADPP) in Mexico (the largest supplier of avocados to the US).