The Scientific Research Council (SRC) is urging more food manufacturers to test their products for listeria, a bacterium that can cause serious ailments and even death when ingested.

Listeria can be found in many of the foods that are consumed daily, namely dairy items, fish and meat.

“Once you are manufacturing food, you want to ensure that whatever you are putting out on the shelves, whatever you are giving to persons to eat is completely free of listeria. We can help you with that,” Microbiologist at the SRC, Mandesa Jackson, said in a recent interview with JIS News.

Small to large-scale food producers can take their product samples to the SRC’s Hope Gardens office for testing. Evaluations are generally completed over a 24-hour period.

“You do not want to have a product that has listeria and a pregnant woman eats it, gets ills and loses her child. You do not want that burden on you. So, just to be sure that your food is safe, take it to us. Once we give you a result that says your sample is free from listeria, you can rest assured that when the [public consumes] it they will be safe,” Jackson said.

Pregnant women, the elderly and those with a weakened immune system who consume foods contaminated by the microorganism are at a high risk of falling ill.

Some of the common symptoms shown in those who consume food contaminated with listeria include diarrhoea, nausea and fever.

Jackson emphasised that all Jamaicans should protect themselves against listeria by adequately preparing meals.

“If you do not prepare your food properly and depending on where you get your food from, you might get it. So, ensure that wherever you are getting your food from it is clean and safe as well, and if it is something that needs to be cooked, you must cook it properly,” she urged