Quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA) of food-borne zoonoses at the European level

Abstract At EU level, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the body responsible for risk assessment in the field of food and feed safety. Following a request from European Union (EU) risk managers, the EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) provided, for the first time, two EU-wide farm-to-fork quantitative microbiological risk assessments (QMRA), with regard to Salmonella in slaughter and breeder pigs and Campylobacter in broilers. The Scientific Opinion on a QMRA of Salmonella in pigs represented a major step forward in terms of modelling from farm to consumption as it took into account the variability between and within EU Member States. This QMRA model was developed to estimate the prevalence of infection/contamination and the microbial load from the farm to the point of consumption (exposure) and then estimating the probability of infection. It was used to investigate the effect of interventions to control Salmonella in pigs at different points of the food chain and resulted in a hierarchy of suggested on farm and slaughterhouse control measures, with estimates of the reduction of human cases. To model the effect of interventions from farm to fork on the incidence of human campylobacteriosis, a QMRA model was developed and used in the framework of the Scientific Opinion on a QMRA of Campylobacter in broiler meat. Reductions to the public health risk of campylobacteriosis could be achieved through a variety of interventions, both in primary production or at the slaughterhouse, with different impacts. Reductions of public health risk using targets at primary production or microbiological criteria were also estimated through modelling using additional models. QMRA of food-borne pathogens at European level has proven a useful/good tool to enable risk managers to evaluate the feasibility and the cost-benefit ratio of introducing control measures and targets to further protect public health of European consumers.