Listeria spp. are non-fastidious bacterial, able to grow in classical nutritive medium such as brain heart infusion, blood-added gelosis or Luria broth. In these media, Listeria growth is stimulated by the addition of glucose.
One reason why listeriosis is such an important food-borne disease is that the pathogen is environmentally ubiquitous, being common in food plants including red meat and poultry abattoirs, as well as in meat processing factories.
L. monocytogenes can colonize equipment, walls and floor surfaces in plants, as it adheres to stainless steel, glass, rubber and polypropylene. Incubation time for the illness to develop is 1 day to a few weeks after ingestion.
Listeria monocytogenes
