05/18/2026
The rules just changed, and your footbath may not have gotten the memo.
Last year, USDA-FSIS expanded its Listeria testing methodology in direct response to a fatal outbreak. The agency now tests for all Listeria species, not just L. monocytogenes, across product, food-contact surfaces, and environmental zones in RTE facilities.
For Quality Control managers and PCQIs at RTE operations, this isn't a subtle shift. It's a raised bar across your entire environmental monitoring program including the entry points your team walks through dozens of times a day.
The expanded Listeria rule closed a regulatory gap. Make sure your shoe hygiene protocol doesn't become the new one.
Learn how UVZone can strengthen your environmental monitoring program and support FSMA compliance: pathogen.com/blog/expanded-listeria-rule/