Prevalencia de Listeria monocytogenes en alimentos listos para el consumo en España.

Background: Listeriosis in Spain has an incidence rate higher than the European average, forcing extreme food control measures. Objetive: In the present study, the prevalence and the diversity of Listeria monocytogenes in samples of ready-to-eat foods in Spain have been researched. Methods: A systematic review was performed by searching in electronic databases of scientific information for observational studies on ready-to-eat foods contamination by L. monocytogenes, with sample analysis results obtained between January 2006 and December 2020. Meta-analysis was carried out using the MetaXL© software in the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Results: A total of 37 studies were selected. The prevalence of L. monocytogenes in the food samples analyzed in Spain was 4.5% (95% CI: 3.4%-5.9%). The prevalence of Listeria spp. was 16.1% (95% CI: 6.7%-28.1%), with 30.4% of this prevalence corresponding to L monocytogenes. The highest significant values were found in meat products (9.6%, 95% CI: 7.0%-12.4%), and, within these, in fermented meat products (17.9%, 95% CI: 10.3%-26.9%). Conclusions: The global prevalence of L. monocytogenes obtained in Spain is significantly higher than the European average. The foods with the highest risk have turned out to be fermented meat products, which suggest the need of the establishment of more demanding legal microbiological criteria for the prevention of contamination by this bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]