Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance is a major global public health concern and a food safety issue considered in the
framework of Horizon 2020. Bearing this in mind, the current study determined the prevalence of Listeria
monocytogenes and Salmonella strains isolated in ready-to-eat food sampled in industry and retail between
2006 and 2012 by the Official Food Control Services of the Valencian administration (Spain). The
presence of L. monocytogenes was analysed in a total of 2864 samples including pasteurized cheese (624);
cooked ham (487); dried pork sausages (192); ice cream (758) and smoked salmon (803). The presence of
Salmonella was analysed in a total of 1264 samples: pasteurized cheese (289); cooked ham (316); dried
pork sausages (78); ice cream (376) and smoked salmon (205). The results showed that L. monocytogenes
was present in 3.8% of the samples, being most common in smoked salmon. Salmonella was not found in
any of the products studied with the exception of 7 out 78 samples of dried pork sausage. Both
L. monocytogenes and Salmonella showed resistance to 4 antimicrobials (ampicillin, cephalothin, tetracycline
and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole). Moreover, the former was resistant to amikacin, ciprofloxacin,
erythromycin and vancomycin while the later showed resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanate and
chloramphenicol. Furthermore, multi-resistance was found for both microorganisms
