Autumn in the northern hemisphere is beautiful. Leaves on trees are turning color and falling; farmers and gardeners harvesting their crops; the temperatures are cooler and apples are ripening. Each autumn week brings new varieties of apples that come into season, which means more opportunity for delicious goodies like apple pie, apple butter, applesauce and caramel-covered apples. And with Halloween less than two weeks away, caramel apples are popular treats for that holiday as well. But what if that sweet treat on a stick you find packaged in grocery stores had a hidden danger? A recent article published in mBio investigated how a low pH apple coated in low-moisture caramel, mediums not hospitable to bacterial growth, could allow Listeria monocytogenes to multiply. Continue reading “Listeria: The Caramel-Coated Apple Edition”