Quantitative exposure assessment for Listeria monocytogenes in cooked ham

The objectives of this study were predicting the transmission and survival of L. monocytogenes in cooked ham during supply chain. Cooked ham are frequently contaminated with L. monocytogenes during postprocessing steps through contact on surface of processing, handling, packaging equipment. Transfer rate of L. monocytogenes on static and dynamic condition in various surface type was investigated. The prevalence and level of L. monocytogenes in cooked ham at plant as well as the prevalence of unsatisfactory processing at retail were studied. A Monte Carlo simulation model was created by using @risk. The simulation predicted that the prevalence was 11.76 % with 90% confidence interval of 2% to 25% and estimated level was -4.02 log CFU/ cm² . It was estimated to be occurred on slicing step at plant. Our results suggest that, the prevalence and level of L. monocytogenes can be reduced by Good Handling Process application and/or HACCP application.