Risk based microbiological criteria for Campylobacter in broiler meat in the European Union

Risk-based microbiological criteria for Campylobacter in broiler meat: A comparison of two approaches

“…Broiler meat is generally considered to be an important source and therefore many control efforts are targeted at the broiler meat production chain. It has recently been shown how risk-based microbiological criteria (MCs) for Campylobacter can be formulated by the use of a quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA) model (EFSA, 2011;Nauta, Sanaa, & Havelaar, 2012), and be used as a control tool. Like all MCs, risk-based MCs offer "a risk management metric which indicates the acceptability of a food, or the performance of either a process or a food safety control system following the outcome of sampling and testing for microorganisms, their toxins/metabolites or markers associated with pathogenicity or other traits at a specified point of the food chain" (Codex, 2013).…”

“…MCs become "risk-based" if risk assessments are applied to link the criteria to the level of protection that can be achieved by their implementation. More specifically, the risk-based MCs presented by Nauta et al (2012) can be used to define the acceptability of a batch of broiler meat on the basis of the concentrations of Campylobacter found in a number of product samples taken from that batch. The method has been illustrated for a MC for broiler carcass skin samples obtained in the processing plant after chilling, using data of the EU baseline study (EFSA, 2010).…”

“…The method has been illustrated for a MC for broiler carcass skin samples obtained in the processing plant after chilling, using data of the EU baseline study (EFSA, 2010). Nauta et al (2012) have shown how the impact of different MCs can be compared by evaluating the combination of the expected percentage of batches that are not complying with the MC, and the assessed minimum relative residual risk of the complying batches. Such comparisons may offer a basis for risk managers to decide on the most suitable MC.…”

“…Instead of using a microbiological limit, they will consider a limit for the relative risk. The "traditional" risk-based microbiological criterion approach (Nauta et al 2012) and the "case-by-case" risk assessment approach (Christensen et al 2013) are highly similar. In this paper both are considered as risk-based microbiological criteria and they will be referred to as the "Microbiological Limit MC" (ML-MC) and the "Relative Risk Limit MC" (RRL-MC) respectively.…”

“…In particular, we study (1) the difference in efficiency, by considering the differences in the balance between the expected percentage of non-complying batches and the minimum relative residual risk (as in Nauta et al 2012), and (2) the uncertainty attending both approaches. A complete uncertainty analysis may be a daunting task, as it should ideally combine the uncertainties and assumptions related to the interpretation of the microbiological data obtained from microbial analyses of meat samples, as well as uncertainties and assumptions attending the QMRA model .…”