FDA responds: Zero tolerance policy is 'misunderstood'

After a smoked salmon trader called the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) zero-tolerance policy for listeria "ridiculous,"  the government organization defended the policy to IntraFish.

"FDA has a zero tolerance for Listeria monocytogenes in all ready to eat foods," spokesman Sebastian Cianci told IntraFish. "The term zero tolerance is often misunderstood. What the term means is that when a food is sampled and tested for Listeria monocytogenes by a specific sampling plan and a specific test method, the agency will take regulatory action if a positive result is obtained.