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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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
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/13/2212
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author 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
author_facet 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
author_sort Laurent Guillier
collection DOAJ
description 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.
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spelling doaj-art-4f92b6f03e384b7da1e98af722f45a552025-08-20T03:50:20ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582025-06-011413221210.3390/foods14132212A Quantitative Risk Assessment Model for <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i> in Ready-to-Eat CantaloupeLaurent Guillier0Ursula Gonzales-Barron1Régis Pouillot2Juliana De Oliveira Mota3Ana Allende4Jovana Kovacevic5Claudia Guldimann6Aamir Fazil7Hamzah Al-Qadiri8Qingli Dong9Akio Hasegawa10Vasco Cadavez11Moez Sanaa12Risk Assessment Department, French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (Anses), 14 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 94700 Maisons-Alfort, FranceCIMO, LA SusTEC, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, PortugalConsultant, 18 rue Mohamed Al Ghazi, Rabat 10170, MoroccoDepartment of Nutrition and Food Safety, World Health Organization, 1211 Geneva, SwitzerlandCEBAS-CSIC, Microbiology and Quality of Fruits and Vegetables Group, Campus de Espinardo, 25, 30100 Murcia, SpainFood Innovation Center, Oregon State University, 1207 NW Naito Parkway, Portland, OR 97209, USACompetence Center for Food Safety, Chair for Food Safety and Analytics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), Schönleutnerstrasse 8, 85764 Oberschleissheim, GermanyPublic Health Risk Sciences Division (PHRS), Public Health Agency of Canada, 370 Speedvale Avenue West, Guelph, ON N1H 7M7, CanadaDepartment of Nutrition and Food Technology, School of Agriculture, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, JordanSchool of Health Science and Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, ChinaDepartment of Nutrition and Food Safety, World Health Organization, 1211 Geneva, SwitzerlandCIMO, LA SusTEC, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, PortugalDepartment of Nutrition and Food Safety, World Health Organization, 1211 Geneva, SwitzerlandThis 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/13/2212melonprimary productionlisteriosisexposure assessmentsimulation
spellingShingle 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
A Quantitative Risk Assessment Model for <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i> in Ready-to-Eat Cantaloupe
Foods
melon
primary production
listeriosis
exposure assessment
simulation
title A Quantitative Risk Assessment Model for <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i> in Ready-to-Eat Cantaloupe
title_full A Quantitative Risk Assessment Model for <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i> in Ready-to-Eat Cantaloupe
title_fullStr A Quantitative Risk Assessment Model for <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i> in Ready-to-Eat Cantaloupe
title_full_unstemmed A Quantitative Risk Assessment Model for <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i> in Ready-to-Eat Cantaloupe
title_short A Quantitative Risk Assessment Model for <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i> in Ready-to-Eat Cantaloupe
title_sort quantitative risk assessment model for i listeria monocytogenes i in ready to eat cantaloupe
topic melon
primary production
listeriosis
exposure assessment
simulation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/13/2212
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