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Listeria contamination has been in the news a lot lately, in everything from deli meats to frozen waffles and soft cheese to smoked salmon. A major driver of higher Listeria rates is our reliance on prepackaged foods. As more of our food supply is made up of prepackaged foods that sit in cold storage for a long time, there’s a higher risk for Listeria, which thrives at those low temperatures. Even if there’s just a little bit of bacterial contamination at first, Listeria can happily grow over time in refrigeration. Unfortunately, government oversight hasn’t kept pace. The USDA and FDA cover different aspects of the food supply and are both operating with very limited resources, which can mean that contamination issues slip through the cracks. Back in 2022, USDA inspectors warned of an “imminent threat” posed by the Virginia Boar’s Head plant at the center of their massive Listeria outbreak, but nothing was done until after 10 people had died. One thing to note is that recalls don’t always mean that there’s an outbreak. Some of the biggest recent recalls, like TreeHouse brand frozen waffles and the 11.7 billion pound BrucePac ready-to-eat meat recall, were found via routine testing, and there haven’t actually been any reports of illnesses. To help prevent a Listeria contamination, focus on First In, First Out (FIFO) to make sure your cold products aren’t sitting for too long.
Sources: Eater, The Hill, FDA, USDA
Short answer: yes. Flu shots save employers money and reduce staffing shortages during the busy holiday season, so lower uptake of flu shots can leave employers hurting. Flu costs businesses a lot of money, from reduced productivity to paid sick days to direct health insurance costs. Models show that each employee who gets vaccinated for flu can save their employer anywhere from $39 to $1494. Flu shots are more popular than COVID shots - a recent survey showed that 56% of adults plan to get the flu jab this year, compared to just 43% who plan to get a COVID shot. A full 37% say they’ve gotten vaccines in the past but don’t plan to get any this year. These might be folks who are in what we call the “moveable middle,” who might be influenced by convenience, like a free, on-site flu shot at their workplace or reminders about free and easy walk-ins at a local pharmacy nearby.