What is it about?
Quantitative Microbiological Risk Assessment (QMRA), an objective tool for estimating the hazard to human health from pathogenic microbial contamination in food and water. The author notes that traditional methods using 'indicator microbes' (like coliforms) are imperfect and suffer limitations, as their absence does not guarantee the absence of pathogens, and establishing standards based on them is expensive and limited in detection. QMRA is presented as a superior and crucial tool in food microbiology that provides an objective measurement of health hazard risk by quantitatively considering factors such as the dose-response model of infection, affected populations, and the impact of food processing and cross-contamination. The article introduces a rapid method called swift QMRA (SQMRA) which simplifies the calculation of microbial risk using a spreadsheet.
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Why is it important?
QMRA is important because it empowers the direct use of pathogen measurements to develop objective pass/fail rules for food and water, which is a major step beyond the limited indicator microbe method. This technique provides a crucial role in decision-making and allows for the quantitative assessment of any modifications made in processing steps, immediately showing whether they impact microbiological quality positively or negatively. Furthermore, QMRA brings focus to the critical bioburden-limiting steps in the food process, such as the survivability of microbial cells after treatment, which can be strictly controlled to prevent catastrophic microbial outbreaks. The data shows that even a microbe with a minor hazard can be aggravated into a gross chaos if there is a breakdown in post-processing control.
Perspectives
Despite its immense value, the article argues that the application of QMRA is currently underestimated and not used to its full potential, especially in developing countries where a lack of sufficient trending and input monitoring data acts as a major barrier. This challenge is compounded by historical concerns that many QMRA assessments have lacked a sound Quality Assurance (QA) framework and failed to adequately depict data variability or assess the assumptions affecting the final outcome. To overcome these issues, the author advocates for the mandatory implementation of QMRA by regulatory authorities, either as a standalone technique or in combination with other tools like Statistical Process Control (SPC). Achieving this goal requires the appropriate establishment of globally harmonized rules for its application and, critically, increased awareness of GxP (Good Practices) and microbial hazard among workers in the food industry.
Independent Researcher & Consultant Mostafa Essam Eissa
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Quantitative Microbiological Risk Assessment: Underrated Tool in Process Improvement in Food Microbiology, Journal of Food Science and Hygiene, June 2018, Open Access Pub,
DOI: 10.14302/issn.2835-2165.jfsh-18-2162.
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