Two Batches of Prosciutto Cotto Recalled Due to Listeria Before Christmas

On December 22, 2025, the Ministry of Health issued a recall notice for prosciutto cotto alta qualità product from a commercial brand, marketed in 120-gram trays with expiration date January 3, 2026. The recall covered two distinct batches, identified as 2541327 and 2541328, due to possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes. The Ministry recommended consumers not to consume the product from those batches and to return it to the point of sale for reimbursement or replacement. The same notice was part of a series of Christmas season alerts that also included turkey and pork products from other brands for the same pathogen.

The fact that the recall was published just before Christmas Eve is not a minor detail: prosciutto cotto is one of the most rapidly rotating deli meats on the Italian Christmas table, multiplying both the volume of product in circulation and the consumer exposure window at the moment of highest consumption of the year. Listeria monocytogenes is particularly dangerous in this type of product because, unlike dry-cured meats, cooked ham has higher water activity and more neutral pH, conditions that favor pathogen survival and multiplication during refrigerated storage, even weeks after packaging.