Prevalence of Listeria spp in meat and poultry products

Reports covering the years 1971-1994 reveal the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in meats to be highly variable with around 16% of products being positive. In general fresh meats tend to contain <100/g while the highest numbers have been found in processed meat and poultry products. Although serovar 4b has been associated with the largest human outbreaks of listeriosis, 1/2a, 1/2b, and 1/2c are more often isolated from meats. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.