The prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in meat products in China: A systematic literature review and novel meta-analysis approach

Meat products are commonly regarded as one of the main sources of human listeriosis caused by Listeria monocytogenes. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of L. monocytogenes in a range of meat products from 24 different Chinese regions by using meta-analysis of literature data and a novel sensitivity analysis approach. A total of 112 publications from five databases, published between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2017, were systematically selected for relevance and covered meat products sampled between 2000 and 2016. Estimated by the random-effects model, the pooled prevalence of L. monocytogenes was 8.5% (95% CI: 7.1%–10.3%) in raw meats and 3.2% (95% CI: 2.7%–3.9%) in ready-to-eat (RTE) meats. The prevalence differed from high to low among raw meats including prefabricated raw meats 12.6% (95% CI: 6.9%–21.7%), fresh pork 11.4% (95% CI: 8.6%–14.9%), fresh beef 9.1% (95% CI: 6.3%–13.0%), fresh poultry 7.2% (95% CI:4.9%–10.4%), frozen raw meats 7.2% (95% CI: 5.7%–9.0%), and fresh mutton 5.4% (95% CI: 2.5%–11.0%). A higher L. monocytogenes prevalence level was shown in the meat products from central and northeastern China provincial regions. The entropy-based sensitivity analysis utilized in the meta-analysis indicated that the sampling period and location were two critical factors influencing the prevalence level of L. monocytogenes in meat products. A better understanding of differences in prevalence levels per geographic region and between meat product sources may allow the competent authorities, industry, and other relevant stakeholders to tailor their interventions to control the occurrence of L. monocytogenes in meat products effectively.