Table 12.

Non‐compliance (%) with L. monocytogenes food safety criteria laid down by Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 in main ready‐to‐eat (RTE) food categories in the EU, 2016 according to sampling stage and analytical method and sampling unit (single units vs batch samples)a

RTE food categoryb	Sampling unit	Processing stage		Retail (including ‘unspecified’)
		Analytical methodo
		Detection	Enumeration	Detection	Enumeration
Foods intended for infants and foods for special medical purposes	Batch	0.0 (n = 11; 2 MS)		0.0 (n = 3; 1 MS)
	Single	0.0 (n = 21; 2 MS)		0.0 (n = 318; 9 MS)
Fish c and fishery products d	Batch	6.1 (n = 652; 5 MS)			1.7 (n = 753; 9 MS)
	Single	6.3 (n = 459; 12 MS)			0.4 (n = 1,750; 14 MS)
Cheeses, soft and semi‐soft e	Batch	0.5 (n = 1,895; 6 MS)			0.3 (n = 636; 10 MS)
	Single	0.8 (n = 2,148; 12 MS)			0.0 (n = 1,479; 10 MS)
Cheeses, hard f	Batch	Unable to support the growth of L. monocytogenes	0.0 (n = 105; 1 MS)		0.0 (n = 361; 5 MS)
	Single		0.6 (n = 310; 8 MS)		0.0 (n = 314; 8 MS)
Cheeses, unspecified g	Batch	0.0 (n = 3; 1 MS)			0.0 (n = 31; 2 MS)
	Single	1.0 (n = 2,254; 5 MS)			0.0 (n = 514; 5 MS)
Other dairy products (excluding cheeses) – entire category h	Batch	0.2 (n = 1,256; 5 MS)			0.0 (n = 295; 7 MS)
	Single	< 0.1 (n = 1,045; 11 MS)			0.0 (n = 933; 9 MS)
Other dairy products (excluding cheeses) – supporting the growth of L. monocytogenes i	Batch	0.2 (n = 548; 3 MS)			0.0 (n = 73; 4 MS)
	Single	0.4 (n = 262; 6 MS)			0.0 (n = 201; 6 MS)
Other dairy products (excluding cheeses) – NOT supporting the growth of L. monocytogenes j	Batch	Unable to support the growth of L. monocytogenes	0.0 (n = 227; 3 MS)		0.0 (n = 222; 7 MS)
	Single		0.0 (n = 408; 8 MS)		0.0 (n = 732; 9 MS)
Milk k	Batch	0.0 (n = 139; 4 MS)			0.0 (n = 29; 5 MS)
	Single	1.4 (n = 218; 8 MS)			0.0 (n = 124; 6 MS)
Products of meat origin: fermented sausages l	Batch	Unable to support the growth of L. monocytogenes	0.0 (n = 5; 1 MS)		0.0 (n = 14; 3 MS)
	Single		0.8 (n = 261; 5 MS)		0.2 (n = 515; 6 MS)
Products of meat origin other than fermented sausages m	Batch	1.2 (n = 1,852; 5 MS)			0.1 (n = 1,567; 7 MS)
	Single	3.0 (n = 4,777; 10 MS)			< 0.1 (n = 4,687; 13 MS)
Other products n	Batch	1.9 (n = 522; 8 MS)			0.1 (n = 1,825; 8 MS)
	Single	0.6 (n = 1,069; 12 MS)			< 0.1 (n = 4,951; 16 MS)

CFU: colony‐forming unit; MS: Member State; n: number of sampling units.

^aEach cell contains the percentage of non‐compliant samples (the presence of L. monocytogenes in 25‐g of sample for detection analyses or populations of L. monocytogenes > 100 CFU/g for enumeration analyses) and in parenthesis the number of tested samples and the number of reporting MS at the batch‐ and single‐unit levels. Retail includes also data from sampling stage reported as ‘unspecified’.

^bIn the absence of relevant data (pH, aw), EFSA assumes that foods listed under ‘Fish and fishery products’, ‘Soft and semi‐soft cheeses’, ‘Unspecified cheeses’, ‘Milk’, ‘Products of meat origin other than fermented sausages’ and ‘Other products’ belong to the category of foods that are able to support the growth of L. monocytogenes. Foods classified under these categories of RTE products are expected to have near‐neutral or moderately low pH and relatively high water activity (aw) values or can be very heterogeneous in terms of their manufacturing technology and physicochemical characteristics (‘Other products’). EFSA assumes that ‘Fermented sausages’ and ‘Hard cheeses’ belong to the category of foods that are unable to support the growth of L. monocytogenes, because foods classified under these two categories of RTE products undergo ripening/fermentation and are expected to have low pH and moderate a_w values. In assessing compliance of ‘other dairy products’, EFSA is presenting the results of two different approaches: (a) a conservative approach, classifying/considering all ‘other dairy products’ as capable of supporting the growth of L. monocytogenes; and (b) a ‘splitting’ of ‘other dairy products’ into two subcategories (one subcategory encompassing products that are likely to support the growth of L. monocytogenes as well as unspecified products, and one subcategory encompassing products that are unlikely to support the growth of L. monocytogenes).

^cIncludes RTE fish which is ‘cooked’, ‘gravad lax/slightly salted’, ‘marinated’ or ‘smoked’ (cold‐ or hot‐smoked).

^dIncludes cooked crustaceans (shrimps, prawns, unspecified) that were ‘chilled’, ‘frozen’ or ‘shelled and shucked’, cooked molluscan shellfish (‘chilled’, ‘frozen’ or ‘shelled, shucked and frozen’), fishery products unspecified (‘cooked’, ‘cooked and chilled’, ‘ready‐to‐eat chilled or frozen’, ‘seafood pâté’, ‘smoked’).

^eIncludes ‘curd’, ‘fresh’ and ‘soft or semi‐soft’, cheeses made from different milk kinds and types (‘pasteurised’ or ‘raw or low‐heat treated’ and from ‘cows’, ‘goats’, ‘sheep’, ‘mixed’, ‘unspecified’ or from other animals’ milk).

^fIncludes ‘hard’ cheeses made from different milk kinds and types (‘pasteurised’ or ‘raw or low‐heat treated’ and from ‘cows’, ‘goats’, ‘sheep’, ‘mixed’, ‘unspecified’ or from other animals’ milk).

^gIncludes ‘unspecified’ cheeses made from different milk kinds (‘cows’, ‘goats’, ‘sheep’, ‘mixed’, ‘unspecified’ or from other animals’ milk).

^hIncludes ‘butter’, ‘buttermilk’, ‘cheese analogue’, ‘cream’, ‘dairy desserts’, ‘fermented dairy products’, ‘ice‐cream’, ‘milk‐based drinks’, ‘milk powder and whey powder’, ‘sour milk’, ‘yoghurt’ and ‘unspecified’ ready‐to‐eat dairy products.

ⁱIncludes ‘butter’, ‘cheese analogue’, ‘cream’, ‘dairy desserts’, ‘milk‐based drinks’ and ‘unspecified’ ready‐to‐eat dairy products.

^j‘Buttermilk’, ‘fermented dairy products’, ‘ice‐cream’, ‘milk powder and whey powder’, ‘sour milk’ and ‘yoghurt’.

^kIncludes milk (‘pasteurised’, ‘UHT’, or ‘raw, intended for direct human consumption’) from ‘cows’, ‘goats’, ‘sheep’, ‘unspecified’ or from other animals’ milk. Raw milk and raw milk for the manufacture of raw and low heat‐treated products are not included.

^lIncludes fermented sausages made from meat of different animal species (‘bovine animals’, ‘deer’, ‘horse’, ‘pig’, ‘mixed’, ‘other animal species or unspecified’).

^mIncludes ‘meat products’ (‘intended to be eaten raw’ or ready‐to‐eat), meat preparations (‘pâté’) and ‘minced meat’ (‘intended to be eaten raw’ or ‘ready‐to‐eat’) from different animal species (‘bovine animals’, ‘pigs’, poultry (‘broilers’, ‘geese’, ‘ducks’, ‘turkeys’, ‘other poultry species’ or ‘unspecified poultry’), ‘mixed’, ‘goats’, ‘sheep’, ‘horses’, ‘bison’, ‘donkeys’, ‘water buffalos’, ‘wild boar’, ‘farmed game‐land animals’, or ‘other animal species’).

ⁿIncludes RTE salads, fruits and vegetables (pre‐cut or not), processed food products and prepared dishes (sandwiches, ices and frozen desserts, sushi and other ready‐to‐eat foods), spices and herbs, bakery products (bread, cakes, desserts, pastry), vegetables (pre‐cut or not, canned, cooked or cooked and chilled), confectionery products and pastes, beverages (non‐alcoholic), chocolate, nuts and nut products, fats and oils (excluding butter), juices (from fruits, vegetables or mixed, pasteurised or unpasteurised), sauces and dressings, cereals and meals, cocoa and cocoa preparations, coffee and tea, sweets, fruits (pre‐cut or not, chilled or frozen, canned, dried or fruit puree), coconut, soups, seeds (sprouted or dried), potato chips, egg products (ready‐to‐eat).

^oThe results from qualitative examinations using the detection method were used to assess compliance with the criterion of ‘absence in 25 grams’, and the results from quantitative analyses using the enumeration method were used to assess compliance with the criterion of ‘≤ 100 CFU/g’.