Process risk model for Salmonella and ground chicken

Area of Science:

• Food Safety
• Microbiology
• Risk Assessment

Background:

• Salmonella contamination in ground chicken (GC) poses a significant public health risk.
• Evaluating the safety of individual GC lots requires robust risk assessment models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a process risk model (PRM) for assessing the safety of ground chicken (GC) lots contaminated with Salmonella (Salm).

Main Methods:

• Collected data on Salm prevalence, number, and serotype in GC samples.
• Developed a predictive model for Salm contamination based on serving size.
• Integrated thermal inactivation and dose-response models into a PRM in Excel.
• Simulated the PRM using NeuralTools and @Risk.

Main Results:

• Salm prevalence in GC increased with serving size.
• Total Salm numbers and severity of illness (TSI) were not significantly affected by serving size.
• The PRM successfully integrated various data types to assess GC lot safety.

Conclusions:

• The PRM provides a holistic approach to food safety, integrating microbial data with consumer behavior.
• This model can identify safe and unsafe GC lots, enhancing public health and reducing food recalls.