Quantitative microbial risk assessment of Salmonella in fresh chicken patties

Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) has witnessed rapid development within the context of food safety in recent years. As a means of contributing to these advancements, a QMRA for Salmonella spp. in fresh chicken patties for the general European Union (EU) population was developed. A two-dimensional (Second Order) Monte-Carlo simulation method was used for separating variability and uncertainty of model's parameters. The stages of industrial processing, retail storage, domestic storage, and cooking in the domestic environment were considered in the exposure assessment. For hazard characterization, a dose-response model was developed by combining 8 published dose-response models using a Pert distribution for describing uncertainty. The QMRA model predicted a mean probability of illness of 1.19*10^-4 (5.28*10^-5 - 3.57*10^-4 95 % C.I.), and a mean annual number of illnesses per 100,000 people of 2.13 (0.96 - 6.59 95 % C.I.). Moreover, sensitivity analysis was performed, and variability in cooking preferences was found to be the most influential model parameter (r = -0.39), followed by dose-response related variability (r = 0.22), and variability in the concentration of Salmonella spp. at the time of introduction at the processing facility (r = 0.11). Various mitigation strategy scenarios were tested, from which, "increasing the internal temperature of cooking" and "decreasing shelf life" were estimated to be the most effective in reducing the predicted risk of illness. Salmonella-related illnesses exhibit particularly high severity, making them some of the most prominent zoonotic diseases in the EU. Regular monitoring of this hazard in order to further highlight its related parameters and causes is a necessary procedure. This study not only provides an updated assessment of Salmonella spp. risk associated with chicken patties, but also facilitates the identification of crucial targets for scientific investigation and implementation of real-world intervention strategies.