Meat Plants Must Test for Listeria

The U.S. Agriculture Department said it will push ahead with a Clinton administration plan to require U.S. makers of hot dogs, cold cuts and other ready-to-eat meats to test for Listeria monocytogenes, a potentially deadly bacteria.

The proposed rule was among dozens temporarily suspended by the incoming Bush administration until it could review them.

The Listeria bacteria cause about 2,500 flulike illnesses and 500 deaths annually, U.S. data show.

Plants will have to routinely test production lines for any Listeria bacteria on equipment or work areas. If it is found, the plant will also have to sample and test meat at the end of the production line.