Ranking of low-moisture foods in support of microbiological risk management

Examines the available information on microbiological hazards related to low-moisture foods and ranks the foods of greatest concern from a microbiological food safety perspective. These include cereals and grains, dried protein products, spices, dried herbs and nut products.

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Low-moisture foods (LMF) are foods that are naturally low in moisture or are produced from higher moisture foods through drying or dehydration processes. These foods typically have a long shelf life and have been perceived for many years to not represent microbiological food safety risk hazards. However, in recent years, a number of outbreaks of food-borne illnesses linked to LMF has illustrated that despite the fact that microorganisms cannot grow in these products, bacteria do have the possibility to persist for long periods of time in these matrices