ENHANCING MICROBIAL FOOD SAFETY BY RISK ANALYSIS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1018371
• Multistate No.: S-OLD 1077
• Project Start Date: Nov 16, 2018
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2023
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
KANSAS STATE UNIV
(N/A)
MANHATTAN,KS 66506

Performing Department
Animal Science & Industry

Non Technical Summary
This project proposes a mechanism to establish formal collaborations under the umbrella of a single goal in ordert to enable scientiststo access external funding more successfully than if collaborations were formedad hocbecause of the multi-disciplinary nature of food safety research. The scientists in this project will behighly committed to 1) the recruitment of a diverse student population, 2) responsible research conduct, 3) outreach and education to communicate current research, and 4) the advancement of food safety science by keeping one another accountable for their share of results.Thismulti-state projectproposes integrative and innovative approaches to teaching food safety at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Students will be exposed and trained in the use of modern molecular techniques such as next generation sequencing, metagenomics, and bioinformatics. Partnerships with industry colleagues will allow students to work on current and emerging food safety challenges and to think creatively and critically to solve them.The need for training programs to support the next generation of food safety professionals and to increase the ethnic and cultural diversity among food safety researchers to better reflect the demographic composition of the U.S. population is clear. Greater diversity is critical from the perspective of educational opportunity, but also relative to food safety and public health because various regional and ethnic groups may face different food safety challenges. Cultural and personal sensitivity and competence among food safety professionals is necessary. This project proposes to train a new generation of food safety students with both a strong technical background and the soft skills needed to help them succeed in their future careers.

Animal Health Component

50%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

50%

Applied

50%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
712	5010	1060	100%

Knowledge Area
712 - Protect Food from Contamination by Pathogenic Microorganisms, Parasites, and Naturally Occurring Toxins;

Subject Of Investigation
5010 - Food;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems);

Keywords

food safety

risk assessment

scientific network

Goals / Objectives
Risk Assessment: Characterize food safety risks in food systems Risk Management: Develop, validate, and apply science-based interventions to prevent and mitigate food safety threats Risk Communication: Convey science-based messages to stakeholders to improve food safety behaviors and practices

Project Methods
Methods forObjective 1: Risk Assessment: Characterizing food safety risks in food systemsUnderstanding prevalence of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance within the environment, food products, food production, food processing, food distribution and consumer systems. The success of any risk assessment hinges on a comprehensive understanding of both concentration and distribution of risk factors, including foodborne pathogens and presence of antimicrobial resistance genes. Much of the currently available prevalence data is lacking critical concentration data (i.e. how much of a given pathogens is anticipated in a specified amount of food product?), which while difficult to determine, is an essential piece of any risk assessment. Also commonly overlooked are the potential spatial-temporal population differences that may exist across the US, and offer a unique niche for PIs collaborating on this multistate project to evaluate. These spatial patterns that exist along the farm-to-fork continuum provide insight into current relative risk of food products and production environments and are a critical starting point against which all risk reduction attempts can be benchmarked. Statistically-sound sampling methods and sample sizes are of fundamental importance to all studies. These issues will be addressed by our plan to 1) evaluate frequencies and concentrations of pathogens and antimicrobial-resistance genes and 2) identify production, manufacturing, distribution or consumer management practices that improve public health by reducing these risks. The approaches used to address our plan will use both classical bench-science as well as surveys based in the social sciences. The aforementioned emerging "omics" technologies can help address these questions as well.Methods forObjective 2: Develop, validate, and apply science-based interventions to prevent and mitigate food safety threatsTo accomplish the tasks associated with Objective 2, a risk management framework based on commodity-specific flow diagrams and inputs from Objective 1 will be developed. A key component of this activity will be the use of risk modeling techniques to relate the levels of microbial contamination in food to the likelihood of a foodborne illness or outbreak occurring. The information developed using this approach will then be used to development of specific interventions for risk mitigation at specific points along the farm-to-fork continuum. The results of the risk modeling approaches will also help identify critical data gaps, which will feed back into new projects under Objective 1.Models and risk management. Predictive microbiology and QMRA are rapidly developing scientific disciplines that use mathematical equations, numerical data, outbreak data, and expert elicitation to estimate the presence, survival, growth, and death of microbes in foods. These models allow for the prediction of the safety of a product based on the entire sequence of events up to consumption, including worst-case food handling scenarios. They provide a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of risk-reduction strategies.Methods for Objective 3: Risk Communication: Convey science-based messages to stakeholders to improve food safety behaviors and practicesInstead of relying solely on passive diffusion of information through the publication of fact sheets, peer-reviewed journal articles, and presentations, herein we propose to use two-way exchanges of information between stakeholders and researchers to tailor risk management messages for each specific audience. Multiple criteria will be used to evaluate and assess message content and media. The efficacy of these messages to result in measurable changes in behavior and tangible impacts on improving food safety within the food production continuum will be evaluated. Based on stakeholder feedback and the assessed success or limitations of various communication strategies, changes will be made in approaches to outreach to meet specific audience needs.

Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:meat producers and small crops producer in Kansas Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?workshop and bulletin What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?conitnue with workshop, bullettin and white paper

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1) Risk Assessment: Characterize food safety risks in food systems Nearly 6% of reported human salmonellosis cases in the US are estimated to be associated with pork and pork products. Causes and mechanisms of microbial entry into pork production systems are not well understood. Salmonella has beenobserved in both animal feeds and pork products, raising questions on the role of feed and feed mill environments in introducing contamination into the pork feed-to-fork system. The goal of our research is to evaluate the presence of Salmonella and E. coli in processing enviroment and identify potential risk factors associated with their presence and contamination. 2) Risk Management: Develop, validate, and apply science-based interventions to prevent and mitigate food safety threats In the food industry, inadequately cleaned equipment represents a potential source for Listeria monocytogenes contamination. This pathogen has shown niche adaptation to food processing facilities and its ability to form biofilm is a hurdle for food safety. Even if good sanitation practices can minimize the pathogen survival, difficult-to-clean sites in plants are still high risk areas. The combination of sanitizers with UV light might represent an effective way to control pathogen growth. The objective of this research is to evaluate the effect of UV-C light and sanitizers (alone or in combination) on L. monocytogenes biofilm-forming ability on stainless steel 3) Risk Communication: Convey science-based messages to stakeholders to improve food safety behaviors and practices - E workshop for produce grower (KDAfunded project)

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: 1) Schwan C, Trinetta V, Baleky M, Cook P, Phebus R, Gragg S, Kastner J, Vipham J, Lomonaco S. Draft genome sequences of 81 Salmonella enterica Strains from Informal Markets in Cambodia. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1128/MRA.00773-20
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Mendez E, Walker DK, Vipham J, Trinetta V. The use of a CDC biofilm reactor to grow multi-strain Listeria monocytogenes biofilm. Food Microbiology, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fm.2020.103592
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: 3) Magossi G, Lambertini E, Noll L, Bai J, Jones C, Nagaraja TG, Phebus R, Woodworth J, Trinetta V. Potential risk-factors affecting Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli occurrence and distribution in Midwestern United States swine feed mills. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.14758
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: 4) Trinetta V, Magossi G, Allard MW, Tallent SM, Brown EW, Lomonaco S. Characterization of Salmonella enterica isolates from selected US swine feed mills by Whole-Genome Sequencing. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, 2020. 17 (2), 126-136.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2020 Citation: Schwan, C.L., K. Desiree, N. Bello, L. Bastos, L. Hok, R.K. Phebus, S.E. Gragg, J. Kastner, and J.L. Vipham. 2020. Prevalence of Salmonella enterica isolated from food contact and non-food contact surfaces in Cambodian informal markets. Journal of Food Protection. Online Ahead of Print:doi.org/10.4315/JFP- 20-112
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Stanley, H., K. Batziakas, S.E. Gragg, C.L. Rivard, and E.D. Pliakoni. 2020. Impact of modified atmosphere packaging and ozonated water on shelf life, quality, and safety of vegetables stored at non optimum temperatures. Journal of Postharvest Technology. 8:79-95.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2020 Citation: Bhullar, M.S., A. Shaw, A. Mendonca, A. Monge-Brenes, and L. Nabwiire. 2020. Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli in the long-term-survival phase exhibit higher chlorine tolerance and less sub-lethal injury following chlorine treatment of Romaine lettuce. Foodborne Pathog Dis: In Press
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Bhullar, M. S., A. Monge-Brenes, B. Perry, L. Nabwiire, and A. Laury-Shaw. 2020. Determining the potential food safety risks associated with dropped produce on floor surfaces in grocery stores. J. Food Prot.

Progress 11/16/18 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:meat producers and small crops producer in Kansas Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?- Environmental Monitoring workshop for produce grower (WSU funded project) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?disseminate to the communities by white paper and other workshops

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1) Risk Assessment: Characterize food safety risks in food systems Nearly 6% of reported human salmonellosis cases in the US are estimated to be associated with pork and pork products. Causes and mechanisms of microbial entry into pork production systems are not well understood. Salmonella has been observed in both animal feeds and pork products, raising questions on the role of feed and feed mill environments in introducing contamination into the pork feed-to-fork system. The goal of our research is to evaluate the presence of Salmonella and E. coli in feed mills and identify potential risk factors associated with their presence and contamination. 2) Risk Management: Develop, validate, and apply science-based interventions to prevent and mitigate food safety threats In the food industry, inadequately cleaned equipment represents a potential source for Listeria monocytogenes contamination. This pathogen has shown niche adaptation to food processing facilities and its ability to form biofilm is a hurdle for food safety. Even if good sanitation practices can minimize the pathogen survival, difficult-to-clean sites in plants are still high risk areas. The combination of sanitizers with UV light might represent an effective way to control pathogen growth. The objective of this research is to evaluate the effect of UV-C light and sanitizers (alone or in combination) on L. monocytogenes biofilm-forming ability on stainless steel 3) Risk Communication: Convey science-based messages to stakeholders to improve food safety behaviors and practices - Environmental Monitoring workshop for produce grower (WSU funded project)

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: Effects of different moisture and temperature levels on Salmonella survival in poultry fat Valentina Trinetta, Austin McDaniel, Gabriela Magossi, Umut Yucel, Cassandra Jones Trans Anim Sci, Volume 3, Issue 4, July 2019, Pages 13691374, https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txz090
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: Biophys Chem. 2019 Sep;252:106191. doi: 10.1016/j.bpc.2019.106191. Epub 2019 May 24. Evaluation of heating effects on the morphology and membrane structure of Escherichia coli using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Tonyali B1, McDaniel A1, Trinetta V2, Yucel U3.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: 3) Magossi G, Bai J, Cernicchiaro N, Jones C, Porter E, Trinetta V. Seasonal presence of Salmonella spp., Salmonella Typhimurium and its moonophasic variant serotype I 4,[5],12:i:-in selected United States feed mills. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, 2019. 16 (4) 276- 281.