scholarly journals Microbial Risk Assessment of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Beef Imported from the United States of America to Taiwan

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 676
Author(s):  
Keng-Wen Lien ◽  
Meng-Xuan Yang ◽  
Min-Pei Ling

Outbreaks of foodborne illness caused by pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7, which are attributable to the consumption of undercooked beef, have occurred in many countries. In Taiwan, the production of domestic beef accounts for only 5% of the total amount of beef sold. Therefore, we applied different contextual assumptions to develop a quantitative microbial risk assessment of E. coli O157:H7 and evaluated the risk of illness in the Taiwanese population consuming beef imported from the United States of America. The probability distribution showed that, in males aged 19–65 years in the Taiwanese population, for example, when rare beef was consumed 100 servings, there was a 90% probability of randomly intaking seven colony forming units of E. coli O157:H7. When medium beef was consumed 10,000 servings, there was a 90% probability of randomly intaking two colony forming units of E. coli O157:H7. When the exceedance risk was 5%, the rate of foodborne illnesses caused by consuming rare beef contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 was 10–28 cases per 1 million individuals. For medium beef, this rate was 6–13 per 100 million individuals. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the amount of E. coli O157:H7 remaining in beef products after cooking was the most important risk factor, followed by the amount of beef products consumed. Proper cooking of imported beef consumed by the Taiwanese public reduces the incidence of foodborne disease to almost zero, without risk of harm to health.

2010 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. FRANZ ◽  
S. O. TROMP ◽  
H. RIJGERSBERG ◽  
H. J. van der FELS-KLERX

Fresh vegetables are increasingly recognized as a source of foodborne outbreaks in many parts of the world. The purpose of this study was to conduct a quantitative microbial risk assessment for Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes infection from consumption of leafy green vegetables in salad from salad bars in The Netherlands. Pathogen growth was modeled in Aladin (Agro Logistics Analysis and Design Instrument) using time-temperature profiles in the chilled supply chain and one particular restaurant with a salad bar. A second-order Monte Carlo risk assessment model was constructed (using @Risk) to estimate the public health effects. The temperature in the studied cold chain was well controlled below 5°C. Growth of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella was minimal (17 and 15%, respectively). Growth of L. monocytogenes was considerably greater (194%). Based on first-order Monte Carlo simulations, the average number of cases per year in The Netherlands associated the consumption leafy greens in salads from salad bars was 166, 187, and 0.3 for E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and L. monocytogenes, respectively. The ranges of the average number of annual cases as estimated by second-order Monte Carlo simulation (with prevalence and number of visitors as uncertain variables) were 42 to 551 for E. coli O157:H7, 81 to 281 for Salmonella, and 0.1 to 0.9 for L. monocytogenes. This study included an integration of modeling pathogen growth in the supply chain of fresh leafy vegetables destined for restaurant salad bars using software designed to model and design logistics and modeling the public health effects using probabilistic risk assessment software.


Meat Science ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geraldine Duffy ◽  
Enda Cummins ◽  
Pádraig Nally ◽  
Stephen O’ Brien ◽  
Francis Butler

2009 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 425-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
KONSTANTINOS KOUTSOUMANIS

In this study, I describe a systematic approach for modeling food spoilage in microbial risk assessment that is based on the incorporation of kinetic spoilage modeling in exposure assessment by combining data and models for the specific spoilage organisms (SSO: fraction of the total microflora responsible for spoilage) with those for pathogens. The structure of the approach is presented through an exposure assessment application for Escherichia coli O157:H7 in ground beef. The proposed approach allows for identifying spoiled products at the time of consumption by comparing the estimated level of SSO (pseudomonads) with the spoilage level (level of SSO at which spoilage is observed). The results of the application indicate that ignoring spoilage in risk assessment could lead to significant overestimations of risk.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 599-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Hamilton ◽  
C. N. Haas

Legionellahas been identified as the responsible agent for two-thirds of waterborne disease outbreaks in the United States from 2011–2012.


2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Rijal ◽  
J. K. Tolson ◽  
C. Petropoulou ◽  
T. C. Granato ◽  
A. Glymph ◽  
...  

A microbial risk assessment was conducted to estimate the human health risks from incidental contact recreational activities such as canoeing, boating and fishing in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) receiving secondary treated, but non-disinfected, effluent from three municipal water reclamation plants. Actual concentrations of the pathogens (pathogenic E. coli [estimated], Giardia, Cryptosporidium, adenovirus, norovirus, enteric virus) detected from the waterway field data collection at locations upstream and downstream of the effluent outfall during dry and wet weather conditions within the recreation season were included in the risk assessment. The results under the current treatment scheme with no disinfection indicated that the total expected gastrointestinal illness (GI) rate per 1000 incidental contact recreational exposure events during combined weather (dry and wet) conditions ranged from 0.10 to 2.78 in the CAWS, which is below the eight illnesses per 1000 swimmers considered tolerable by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Wet weather conditions contribute to elevated pathogen load to the CAWS; therefore this study determined that disinfecting the effluents of three major WRPs that discharge to the CAWS would result in an extremely small reduction in the aggregate recreation season risk to incidental contact recreators.


2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 302-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Pang ◽  
Elisabetta Lambertini ◽  
Robert L. Buchanan ◽  
Donald W. Schaffner ◽  
Abani K. Pradhan

ABSTRACT Leafy green vegetables, including lettuce, are recognized as potential vehicles for foodborne pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157:H7. Fresh-cut lettuce is potentially at high risk of causing foodborne illnesses, as it is generally consumed without cooking. Quantitative microbial risk assessments (QMRAs) are gaining more attention as an effective tool to assess and control potential risks associated with foodborne pathogens. This study developed a QMRA model for E. coli O157:H7 in fresh-cut lettuce and evaluated the effects of different potential intervention strategies on the reduction of public health risks. The fresh-cut lettuce production and supply chain was modeled from field production, with both irrigation water and soil as initial contamination sources, to consumption at home. The baseline model (with no interventions) predicted a mean probability of 1 illness per 10 million servings and a mean of 2,160 illness cases per year in the United States. All intervention strategies evaluated (chlorine, ultrasound and organic acid, irradiation, bacteriophage, and consumer washing) significantly reduced the estimated mean number of illness cases when compared with the baseline model prediction (from 11.4- to 17.9-fold reduction). Sensitivity analyses indicated that retail and home storage temperature were the most important factors affecting the predicted number of illness cases. The developed QMRA model provided a framework for estimating risk associated with consumption of E. coli O157:H7–contaminated fresh-cut lettuce and can guide the evaluation and development of intervention strategies aimed at reducing such risk.


2019 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
BALASUBRAHMANYAM KOTTAPALLI ◽  
STEPHANIE P. V. NGUYEN ◽  
KELLY DAWSON ◽  
KAITLYN CASULLI ◽  
CATE KNOCKENHAUER ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Outbreaks and recalls related to nuts and seeds in the United States have increased recently, and 80% of these recalls are due to Salmonella. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Food Safety Modernization Act requires food manufacturers to implement risk-based preventive controls based on scientific and technical evidence. Data are limited on the inactivation of Salmonella during processing of saltwater brined in-shell sunflower seeds. The goal of this research was to validate the adequacy of roasting in controlling Salmonella during the production of sunflower seeds and to assess the resulting risk. Four Salmonella strains were inoculated onto sunflower seeds and processed to simulate commercial manufacturing. Seeds were tumbled and roasted at 225°F (107.2°C) and 275°F (135°C) for roasting times from 5 to 45 min. Regression models for Salmonella inactivation and water activity change were developed. The inactivation model predicted a 5-log reduction in Salmonella when sunflower seeds were roasted at 135°C for 19.2 min, with a corresponding water activity of ∼0.61. Roasted sunflower seeds are typically not saleable at water activities >0.6 due to quality issues. Saleable water activities (0.03 to 0.04) were only achieved when the sunflower seeds were roasted for 45 min at 135°C, which resulted in a >7-log reduction in Salmonella. A quantitative microbial risk assessment based on literature values, expert opinion, and the above-mentioned models was used to predict risk of salmonellosis from sunflower seeds. The quantitative microbial risk assessment model predicted an arithmetic mean probability of illness of 1.45E−07 per 28-g serving based on roasting at 135°C for 20 min and an arithmetic mean probability of illness of 5.46E−10 per serving based on roasting at 135°C for >45 min (i.e., saleable product process parameters). This study demonstrates that sunflower seeds roasted to saleable parameters should not represent a public health risk from potential presence of Salmonella.


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