Working Group

Listeria Working Group

Terms of reference and membership of the Listeria Working Group

Last updated: 17 June 2025

Role

To delve deeper into the specific issues surrounding Listeria strain variability and to develop specific recommendations for how strain-specific information can best be incorporated into future risk assessments and technical advice produced by FSA Science & Evidence teams for use to inform policy decisions. 

Terms of Reference

  • To carry out a risk assessment of Listeria within food facilities to inform risk mitigation. 
  • To produce a report on Listeria strain variability considering how this can affect food transmissibility, persistence in the environment and current control strategies using sequence data.  
  • To recommend future research priority that will be of interest to PATH-SAFE consortium or research that may benefit the food industries and promoted through the Food Safety Research Network.  

Membership

Chair

Dr Gauri Godbole

Members

Dr Matthew Gilmour 

Prof Cath Rees 

Prof Francis Butler 

Dr Edward Fox 

Departmental Representatives

Dr Anthony Wilson (FSA) 

Dr Karen Pearson (FSS

Dr Clare Barker (UKHSA)