According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 1,600 Americans get listeriosis each year, and about 260 of them die. The infection typically is caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes.

Today, consumers in the United States can experience a huge variety of affordable, fresh and innovative dairy foods, not only from across the country, but also from around the globe, just by visiting the local grocery store — an experience that was considered impossible only a few decades ago. Advances in food science, processing, packaging and a tremendous expansion of the cold chain distribution system are a few of the ways by which this progress has been achieved.