21 CFR § 112.152 - What methods must I use to test the growing, harvesting, packing, and holding environment for Listeria species or L. monocytogenes to satisfy the requirements of § 112.144(a)?

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t21/s112.152"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "21 CFR § 112.152 - What methods must I use to test the growing, harvesting, packing, and holding environment for Listeria species or L. monocytogenes to satisfy the requirements of § 112.144(a)?"
title_number: 21
title_name: "Food and Drugs"
section_number: "112.152"
section_name: "What methods must I use to test the growing, harvesting, packing, and holding environment for Listeria species or L. monocytogenes to satisfy the requirements of § 112.144(a)?"
chapter_name: "FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES"
subchapter_number: "B"
subchapter_name: "FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION"
part_number: "112"
part_name: "STANDARDS FOR THE GROWING, HARVESTING, PACKING, AND HOLDING OF PRODUCE FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "21 U.S.C. 321, 331, 342, 350h, 371; 42 U.S.C. 243, 264, 271."
regulatory_source: "80 FR 74547, Nov. 27, 2015, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "112"
---


# 112.152 What methods must I use to test the growing, harvesting, packing, and holding environment for Listeria species or L. monocytogenes to satisfy the requirements of § 112.144(a)?

You must test the growing, harvesting, packing, and holding environment for *Listeria* species or *L.* *monocytogenes* using:

(a) The method of analysis described in “Testing Methodology for *Listeria* species or *L. monocytogenes* in Environmental Samples,” Version 1, October 2015, U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Director of the Federal Register approves this incorporation by reference in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 5. You may obtain a copy from, and/or inspect a copy at, the Division of Produce Safety, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 5001 Campus Dr., College Park, MD 20740, 240-402-1600; FDA's Main Library, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 2, Third Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20993, 301-796-2039; *http://www.fda.gov/fsma*; or at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to: *http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html*; or

(b) A scientifically valid method that is at least equivalent to the method of analysis in § 112.152(a) in accuracy, precision, and sensitivity.