Listeria monocytogenes in EU Food Imports — RASFF Notifications

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Listeria monocytogenes appeared in 932 RASFF notifications between 2019 and 2026 — 3.9% of the 23,724 notifications that identify a hazard. The origins cited most often are France, Poland, Italy. The most-affected product category is Fish and Fish Products. Volume in 2025 was down 1% on 2024.

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Listeria monocytogenes notifications by year

YearNotificationsof which border rejectionsYoY
2019 8 0
2020 124 0
2021 120 0 -3.2%
2022 126 0 +5.0%
2023 118 0 -6.3%
2024 162 0 +37.3%
2025 160 0 -1.2%
2026 114 0 YTD
Total932

Origins most cited for Listeria monocytogenes

#Origin countryNotifications
1 France 204
2 Poland 97
3 Italy 91
4 Belgium 81
5 Netherlands 73
6 Spain 56
7 Germany 42
8 Ireland 31
9 Lithuania 29
10 Denmark 23
11 Latvia 17
12 Romania 17
13 Czech Republic 16
14 Norway 16
15 China 14
16 Austria 12
17 United Kingdom 12
18 Hungary 11
19 Sweden 10
20 Brazil 7
21 Bulgaria 6
22 Serbia 6
23 Slovakia 6
24 Turkey 6
25 Croatia 5
26 Estonia 5
27 United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) 5
28 Greece 4
29 Portugal 4
30 Ukraine 4

Product categories where Listeria monocytogenes appears

#Product categoryNotifications
1Fish and Fish Products233
2Milk and Milk Products224
3Meat and Meat Products (Other Than Poultry)205
4Poultry Meat and Poultry Meat Products88
5Prepared Dishes and Snacks52
6Fruits and Vegetables51
7Other Food Product / Mixed29
8Crustaceans and Products Thereof19
9Cereals and Bakery Products10
10Ices and Desserts5
11Bivalve Molluscs and Products Thereof2
12Herbs and Spices2
13Nuts, Nut Products and Seeds2
14Soups, Broths, Sauces and Condiments2
15Animal By-Products1

Recent Listeria monocytogenes notifications

About Listeria monocytogenes

Listeria monocytogenes causes listeriosis, a rare but serious foodborne illness that is most dangerous for pregnant women, newborns and the elderly. Unlike most pathogens it grows at refrigeration temperatures, so EU notifications concentrate in ready-to-eat foods: smoked and cured fish, soft cheeses and other dairy, and cooked meat products.

Which RASFF notifications does this page count?

All classifications: alert notifications, border rejection notifications and information notifications. A consignment rejected at the border and a product recalled from shelves are both evidence that the hazard reached EU food controls, so both count. The by-year table shows the border-rejection share separately.

What happens when this hazard is found in a consignment?

At the border, the consignment is refused entry and either re-dispatched, destroyed or downgraded to non-food use. On the internal market, the product is withdrawn or recalled and every member state that received it is notified through RASFF. Repeated findings against one origin can move that origin onto Regulation (EU) 2019/1793, which fixes an increased frequency of identity and physical checks at the border.

Where does this data come from?

The public RASFF Window operated by the European Commission, refetched daily. Counts are per notification, so one consignment listing several variants of the same hazard is counted once.