Quantifying recontamination through factory environments - a review

Recontamination of food products can be the origin of foodborne illnesses and should therefore be included in quantitative microbial risk assessment (MRA) studies. In order to do this, recontamination should be quantified using predictive models. This paper gives an overview of the relevant modelling approaches that are available in the literature to quantify recontamination via factory environment. Different recontamination routes are described: recontamination via air, via processing equipment or via hand contact. Unfortunately, not many available models are directly applicable to the food industry; most models are developed for aquatic or environmental systems. Finally, a general systematic approach is proposed for modelling contamination from surfaces via air, hands or liquid into the product and ranges for the parameters are given. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.