Summary: | <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i> is an increasing food safety concern throughout the produce supply chain as it has been linked to produce associated outbreaks and recalls. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic literature review to investigate <i>Listeria</i> species and <i>L. monocytogenes</i> prevalence, persistence, and diversity at each stage along the supply chain. This review identified 64 articles of 4863 candidate articles obtained from four Boolean search queries in six databases. Included studies examined naturally detected/isolated <i>Listeria</i> species and <i>L. monocytogenes</i> in fresh produce-related environments, and/or from past fresh produce associated outbreaks or from produce directly. <i>Listeria</i> species and <i>L. monocytogenes</i> were detected in each stage of the fresh produce supply chain. The greatest prevalence of <i>Listeria</i> species was observed in natural environments and outdoor production, with prevalence generally decreasing with each progression of the supply chain (e.g., packinghouse to distribution to retail). <i>L. monocytogenes</i> prevalence ranged from 61.1% to not detected (0.00%) across the entire supply chain for included studies. <i>Listeria</i> persistence and diversity were also investigated more in natural, production, and processing environments, compared to other supply chain environments (e.g., retail). Data gaps were identified for future produce safety research, for example, in the transportation and distribution center environment.
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