Introduction

Listeria is an eubacteria that is present is 8 forms. As humans, we are most familiar with the form of listeria called Listeria monocytogenes which is the cause of the food borne illness we know as listeriosis. It is the form of listeria that is addressed the most in this blog.

We hear stories about listeria outbreaks in our news sometimes, the most recent one being Manda Packing Company, where many types of meats were recalled due to suspicion of listeria. Many people are not aware of the dangers of listeria, so with careless preparation of food there are chances of contracting listeriosis.

An example of Listeria monocytogenes
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Listeria_monocytogenes_PHIL_2287_lores.jpg