Prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. in Different Ready to Eat Foods from Large Retailers and Canteens over a 2-Year Period in Northern Italy

Marta Castrica, Egon Andoni, India Intraina, Giulio Curone, Emma Copelotti, Francesca Romana Massacci, Valentina Terio, Silvia Colombo and Claudia Maria Balzaretti
Additional contact information
Marta Castrica: Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety “Carlo Cantoni”, University of Milan, Via dell’ Università 6, 26900 Lodi, Italy
Egon Andoni: Department of Public Health, Agricultural University of Tirana, Rr “Pajsi Vodica” Koder-Kamez, 1023 Tirana, Albania
India Intraina: Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety “Carlo Cantoni”, University of Milan, Via dell’ Università 6, 26900 Lodi, Italy
Giulio Curone: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Milan, Via dell’Università 6, 26900 Lodi, Italy
Emma Copelotti: Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety “Carlo Cantoni”, University of Milan, Via dell’ Università 6, 26900 Lodi, Italy
Francesca Romana Massacci: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Umbria e delle Marche “Togo Rosati”, Via Gaetano Salvemini 1, 06126 Perugia, Italy
Valentina Terio: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Provincial Road to Casamassima Km 3, 70010 Valenzano, Italy
Silvia Colombo: Chemservice S.r.l.—Lab Analysis Group, Via F. lli Beltrami, 15, 20026 Novate Milanese, Italy
Claudia Maria Balzaretti: Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety “Carlo Cantoni”, University of Milan, Via dell’ Università 6, 26900 Lodi, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 20, 1-11

Abstract: This study aims to give an overview of the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. in 9727 samples (2996 for L. monocytogenes and 6731 for Salmonella spp.) from different categories of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, collected over 2 years from 28 large retailers and 148 canteens in the regions of northern Italy. The RTE samples were classified into two groups according to the preparation methods: ( i ) multi-ingredient preparations consisting of fully cooked food ready for immediate consumption, or with minimal further handling before consumption (Group A), and ( ii ) multi-ingredient preparations consisting of cooked and uncooked food, or preparations consisting of only raw ingredients (Group B). L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. were investigated in both of these categories. The overall prevalence of L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. was 0.13% and 0.07%, respectively. More specifically, L. monocytogenes was found in 0.04% of 2442 analysed RTE food samples belonging to group A and in 0.54% of 554 samples belonging to group B. Furthermore, 0.03% of 5367 RTE food samples from group A and 0.21% of 1364 samples from group B tested positive for Salmonella spp. In conclusion, the results obtained in this study can provide a significant contribution to L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. risk analysis in RTE foods.

Keywords: RTE food; foodborne; food safety; Listeria monocytogenes; Salmonella spp.; risk analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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