title: Detection of Listeria monocytogenes in food samples in Avezzano, Sulmona and Castel di Sangro (province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy) between 2000-2009.
abstract: The retrospective study of the results of the analysed samples is a fundamental tool for the identification of major risk related to food and for planning future monitoring activities. The evaluation of the quality of data collected may also allow for estimating the effectiveness of the controls so to improve their efficacy. In this article, the authors evaluated the results of tests for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes performed by the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise 'G. Caporale' (IZSAM) on food samples collected during the years 2000-2009 in the territory of Avezzano, Sulmona and Castel di Sangro (province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy). The comparison of the data examined with those from studies conducted in Italy and in other countries shows that the categories with higher percentages of positivity for Listeria monocytogenes are meat and fish products. Data collected do not indicate cheese as a vehicle of contamination in the sampled areas, in contrast to what reported in the national and international literature. It would therefore be necessary to promote an ad hoc sampling in the areas covered by this study to verify this aspect in more depth.
authors.affiliation: DIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise 'G. Caporale', Campo Boario, 64100 Teramo, Italy.
authors.forename: Nadia Maria
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Sulli
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Massis
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salucci
authors.forename: Berardina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Costantini
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Iannetti
authors.forename: Vincenza
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Prencipe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005516:Food Microbiology; D007558:Italy; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors