A Quantitative Risk Assessment Model for <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i> in Ready-to-Eat Cantaloupe

A Quantitative Risk Assessment Model for <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i> in Ready-to-Eat Cantaloupe

This study introduces a farm-to-fork quantitative risk assessment (QRA) model for invasive listeriosis from ready-to-eat diced cantaloupe. The modular model comprises seven stages—preharvest (soil and irrigation contamination), harvest (cross-contamination and survival), pre-processing (brushing), p...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Laurent Guillier, Ursula Gonzales-Barron, Régis Pouillot, Juliana De Oliveira Mota, Ana Allende, Jovana Kovacevic, Claudia Guldimann, Aamir Fazil, Hamzah Al-Qadiri, Qingli Dong, Akio Hasegawa, Vasco Cadavez, Moez Sanaa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Foods
Subjects:
melon
primary production
listeriosis
exposure assessment
simulation
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/13/2212
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Summary:This study introduces a farm-to-fork quantitative risk assessment (QRA) model for invasive listeriosis from ready-to-eat diced cantaloupe. The modular model comprises seven stages—preharvest (soil and irrigation contamination), harvest (cross-contamination and survival), pre-processing (brushing), processing (flume tank washing, dicing and equipment cross-contamination), lot testing, cold-chain transport and retail growth, and consumer storage/handling. Each stage employs stochastic functions to simulate microbial prevalence and concentration changes (growth, inactivation, removal, partitioning, cross-contamination) using published data. In a reference scenario—good agricultural practices (soil barriers, no preharvest irrigation), hygienic processing and proper cold storage—the model predicts low lot- and pack-level contamination, with few packs >10 CFU/g and most servings below detection; the mean risk per serving is very low. “What-if” analyses highlight critical control points: the absence of soil barriers with preharvest irrigation can increase the risk by 10,000-fold; flume tank water contamination has a greater impact than harvest-stage cross-contamination; and poor consumer storage can raise the risk by up to 500-fold. This flexible QRA framework enables regulators and industry to evaluate and optimize interventions—from improved agricultural measures to targeted sampling plans and consumer guidance—to mitigate listeriosis risk from RTE diced cantaloupe.
ISSN:2304-8158

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