dpsp Log in to Edit
Name:
Dairy Product Safety Predictor
Company / Institution:
ACTALIA/CNIEL, France
Development Partners:
ACTALIA
CNIEL
Contact person:
H. Souaifi,
F. Tenenhaus-Aziza
Link:
Created:
2012
Designed for:
Food business operators
Applicable for:
Risk assessment module
Media covered:
Food matrix (Especially cheeses: soft-cheese, semi-soft cheese, hard cheese)
Microorganisms covered:
Pathogens: 4 species
Growth Factors covered:
Temperature
pH
Water activity
Lactic acid
Interactions between factors
Modeling approach:
Probabilistic
Description:
For several years now, the French dairy sector has been developing microbiological risk assessment
and exposure assessment models for the safety of dairy products, especially cheeses. To date, when a
food business operator has developed an exposure assessment model specific to its product and one
microorganism, he has the possibility to perform simulations with parameters of its choice, online, via a
user-friendly interface, provided he has subscribed.
The model development is a prior step to the online simulations. It is done together with the French
technical center for milk and dairy product Actilait and a food business operator. It can last from some
months to one year, depending on available data. The model development includes the collection of data
regarding physical and chemical parameters all along the process (temperature, pH, water activity and
lactic acid), accounting for variability; the statistical analysis of results from challenge tests, if available,
to assess optimal growth rate of the microorganism in the considered matrix; the implementation of
predictive microbiological models for growth in dynamic conditions (primary model and secondary
cardinal models) and destruction, but also models describing cross-contamination; if the cheese is
made from raw milk, a statistical analysis of milk routine microbiological results is performed, to assess
the initial contamination of the milk (frequency, concentration); if the cheese is made from pasteurized
milk, definition of recontamination scenarios is needed, using for instance routine microbiological
control of the product and in the environment during process.
Generally, the final results of a model are the distribution of the prevalence and the concentration at
different steps of the process, until consumption. These results allow then defining sampling plans,
verifying if a microbiological criterion is respected, etc. A risk of illness can also be calculated. When
finalized, the tailor-made model is loaded in the interface and made available to the food business
operator only, via a personal access. When logged in to his account, the user has to download an
Excel sheet in which parameters accounted for in the model can be modified. After having changed
parameters (for example a different temperature for the ripening phase), the user uploads the new
version of the Excel sheet in the interface and starts simulation. When results are available online, he is
informed by email.