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Ten-Year Surveillance of Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat Meat Products in Montenegro: Prevalence,
Amil Orahovac1, Ivana Zuber Bogdanović2, Marko Nikolić3
1Faculty of Food Technology, Food Safety and Ecology, University of Donja Gorica, Podgorica, Montenegro; Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, Research Area of Biochemical Technology, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria.
Abstract:
Listeria monocytogenes is a major foodborne pathogen of concern in ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products. This study analyzed a ten-year risk-based national surveillance dataset (2016-2025) from Montenegro to assess prevalence, regulatory noncompliance, and product-specific risk. A total of 6,830 samples across four RTE meat categories were evaluated according to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2073/2005. Overall detection was 38.8%, with significant but nonlinear temporal variation (p < 0.001). Cooked emulsion products showed the highest prevalence (73.4%) but minimal noncompliance (0.8%), indicating frequent low-level contamination. Fermented dry sausages exhibited the highest noncompliance rate (6.2%), although decreasing over time (p < 0.001). In contrast, cured whole-cut products showed a significant increase in noncompliance, reaching 13.7% in 2024 (p < 0.001). No noncompliant samples were observed in smoked whole-cut products. Logistic regression identified product category and year as independent predictors of noncompliance. These findings demonstrate that prevalence alone does not reflect regulatory risk and support compliance-based, product-specific surveillance to prioritize control measures in RTE meat systems.
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