Jan 26th, 2026
3 mins
The Chilled Food Association (CFA) and European Commission (EC) have both published updated guidance to help food businesses comply with assimilated Regulation 2073/2005 (as it applies in England, Wales and Scotland) and EC Regulation 2073/2005 (as it applies in Northern Ireland) by ensuring Ready-to-Eat (RTE) foods remain safe throughout their shelf life.
The EU published Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/2895 on 20 November 2024 which came into effect on 10 December 2024. The Regulation will apply in the EU and Northern Ireland (NI) from 1 July 2026.
The regulation amends Chapter 1, criterion 1.2.(b) of Annex 1 of Commission Regulation (EC) 2073/2005. It states Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) must not be detected in 25g during the shelf-life of the RTE product placed on the market, as opposed to the current requirement of before the food has left the immediate control of the food business.
The amendment does not affect application of Chapter 1 criterion 1.2 (a) which is applied by the FBO when they are able to demonstrate (to the satisfaction of the competent authority), that levels of listeria monocytogenes in the product placed on the market will not exceed 100 cfu/g Lm throughout its shelf-life.
As a member of the Industry Listeria Group of stakeholders, chaired by the CFA, the British Frozen Food Federation are proud to support the publication of this guidance.
The CFA guidance can be downloaded here along with the EC guidance here.
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