The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has published a new Guidance Note on the control of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-heat meals. The resource provides practical recommendations to help food businesses strengthen their food safety management systems (FSMS) and better detect and control L. monocytogenes.

FSAI encourages all relevant food businesses to review the guidance and implement the recommended practices.

Outbreaks Reveal Need for Stronger Listeria Controls

The guidance was issued as part of FSAI’s ongoing response to outbreaks of listeriosis linked to ready-to-heat meals that occurred in 2025, including an Irish outbreak that sickened nine people and caused one death, and a U.S. outbreak that resulted in 28 illnesses and seven deaths.

These outbreaks highlight the risks of L. monocytogenes contamination associated with certain cooked/chilled ready-to-heat meals if effective food safety controls are not in place.

Food Manufacturers Must Take Consumer Behavior Into Account

Ready-to-heat meals are fully cooked during manufacturing but still require thorough cooking by consumers to ensure they are safe for consumption. Although these products are not classified as ready-to-eat (RTE) foods under EU legislation, food businesses have a responsibility to ensure all food placed on the market is safe to eat. FSAI advises that certain types of ready-to-heat meals can still pose significant public health risks if contaminated with L. monocytogenes, despite instructions for consumer cooking.

The guidance highlights the importance of a proactive approach to controlling L. monocytogenes in ready-to-heat meals, reminding food businesses that L. monocytogenes is a hazard that must be controlled during the production of these foods. The guidance is intended to support the safe and consistent production, storage, handling, and labeling of ready-to-heat meals. It emphasizes that food businesses must take account of the “reasonably foreseeable use” of these products, recognizing that some consumers do not always handle or fully cook them as required by the manufacturer's instructions on the pack.

Ready-to-Heat Meals with Several Components are Most Vulnerable

L. monocytogenes can survive and persist in food processing environments and may contaminate food after cooking if effective hygiene and environmental controls are not in place. Ready-to-heat meals containing several components (e.g., both meat and vegetables), are particularly vulnerable, as they are assembled after cooking and exposed to the processing environment prior to final packaging. If contaminated at this stage, domestic cooking may not always be sufficient to eliminate the risk, particularly when cooking instructions are not followed.

Recommendations for Industry

By strengthening FSMS to better control L. monocytogenes, there will be less reliance on adequate cooking of the product by the consumer to ensure food safety and public health.

Key recommendations for industry outlined in the guidance include:

• Implementing effective hygiene and environmental monitoring programs to detect and control L. monocytogenes to an appropriate level
• Incorporating the concept of “reasonably foreseeable use” into Hazards Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)-based FSMS 
• Validating shelf life to ensure products remain safe throughout their intended use 
• Applying clear labeling, including prominent cooking instructions and a warning on the front of packaging to cook meals thoroughly.