title: Presence ofListeria monocytogenesin Mediterranean-Style Dry Fermented Sausages.
abstract: The morphological, physiological and epidemiological features ofL. monocytogenes, together with the severity of human listeriosis infections, makeL. monocytogenesof particular concern for manufacturers of cold-stored "ready to eat" (RTE) foods.L. monocytogeneshas been isolated from a wide variety of RTE foods and is responsible for several outbreaks associated with the consumption of RTE meat, poultry, dairy, fish and vegetable products. AlthoughL. monocytogenesis among the most frequently-detected pathogens in dry fermented sausages, these products could be included in the category of RTE products in which the growth ofL. monocytogenesis not favored and have rarely been implicated in listeriosis outbreaks. However,L. monocytogenesis highly difficult to control in fermented sausage processing environments due to its high tolerance to low pH and high salt concentration. In many Mediterranean-style dry fermented sausages, an empirical application of the hurdle technology often occurs and the frequent detection ofL. monocytogenesin these products at the end of ripening highlights the need for food business operators to properly apply hurdle technology and to control the contamination routes ofL. monocytogenesin the processing plants. In the following, through an up-to-date review of (personal and un-) published data, the main aspects of the presence ofL. monocytogenesin Mediterranean-style dry fermented sausages will be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100, Sassari, Italy. dmeloni@uniss.it.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Meloni
keywords: Listeria monocytogenes; Mediterranean area; dry fermented sausages; hurdle technology