Quantitative risk assessment of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) cooked meat products sliced at retail stores in Greece

Abstract A quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) model predicting the listeriosis risk related to the consumption of Ready- To- Eat (RTE) cooked meat products sliced at retail stores in Greece was developed. The probability of illness per serving assessed for 87 products available in the Greek market was found highly related to the nitrite concentration; products having a lower concentration showed a higher risk per serving. The predicted 95th percentiles of the annual listeriosis cases totalled 33 of which 13 cases were