Listeria innocua is a species of Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria.

[5] Although it is not generally considered a human pathogen, L. innocua was identified in 2003 as the cause of death of a 62-year-old, otherwise healthy, woman.

[6] As with other species in the genus, L. innocua occurs commonly in the environment (such as soil) and in food.

[8] L. innocua has been tested and used as a laboratory surrogate for pathogenic L. monocytogenes in studies involving thermal, irradiation, and high-pressure processing of food.

[12] One study found that L. monocytogenes was detected in 5.4% of inoculated beef broth samples when L. innocua was also present.