Microbial Modelling and Risk Analysis Professional Development Group

Mission Statement: To facilitate communication on the topics of predictive modelling (PM) and microbial risk analysis (MRA), encourage research and data reporting methods to support PM and MRA, and promote their applications and use.

How to Join

Involvement in committees and professional development groups (PDGs) offers Members the opportunity to share a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Members of committees and PDGs are the architects of the Association structure. They plan, develop and institute many of the Association's projects, including workshops, publications and educational sessions. Technical challenges facing the food safety industry are discussed, examined and debated. Members may volunteer to serve on any number of committees or PDGs that plan and implement activities to meet the Association's mission.

Membership on a PDG is voluntary (not by appointment) and may vary from year to year.

IAFP Members can manage their PDG involvement by logging in to the IAFP Web site. At the Member Dashboard, click “Edit Profile.” Your profile has two tabs: Contact Info and Professional Info. Select the Professional Info tab and update the PDGs you would like to participate in. We highly recommend that you contact the PDG chairperson for each group to let them know you have joined their PDG.

Non-members can contact Dina Siedenburg, dsiedenburg@foodprotection.org, for more information.

Minutes

• Sep 25, 2020
• Jul 21, 2019
• Jul 8, 2018
• Jul 9, 2017
• Jul 31, 2016
• Jul 25, 2015
• Aug 3, 2014
• Jul 28, 2013
• Jul 22, 2012
• Jul 31, 2011
• Aug 1, 2010

Resources

• Roundtable Update on ICMSF, Leon Gorris, 7 31 2010
• Speaker Notes on FAO Activities, Sarah Cahill, 7-31-10

Webinars

• Data Science in the Food Industry

  Mar 16, 2021

  Food Safety is one of the main challenges of the agri-food industry expected to be addressed in an environment of tremendous technological progress, where consumers’ lifestyles and preferences are in a constant state of flux. Food chain transparency and trust are drivers for food integrity control and also for improvements in efficiency and economic growth. Similarly, the circular economy has great potential to reduce wastage and improve the efficiency of operations in multi-stakeholder ecosystems. Throughout the food chain cycle, all food commodities are exposed to multiple hazards, resulting in a high likelihood of contamination. Such biological and/or chemical hazards may be naturally present at any stage of the food production, accidentally introduced or fraudulently imposed, putting at risk consumers’ health and their faith in the food industry. Nowadays, a massive amount of data is generated not only from the next-generation's monitoring food safety systems and along the entire food chain (primary production included), but also from IoT, media and other devices, which should be used for the benefit of society. The scientific discipline of "Data Science" should be considered as the vital player of driving forces to make this possible.

  Download Slides

  Presenters

  • George Nychas, Presenter Professor, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece
  • Panagiotis Skandamis, Moderator Researcher, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece

• The Challenge of Conducting Challenge Tests

  Sep 13, 2019

  It is the responsibility of food business operators to take measures to ensure that food safety criteria are applicable throughout food production processes, food storage conditions and food preparation. In the case of ready-to-eat and/or perishable food which supports microbial growth, predictive microbiology, literature data or challenge test studies are performed to prove compliance to regulation. In the case a challenge test is deemed necessary, the webinar will provide guidance on how to conduct it properly, based on the recently published standard on challenge testing and the European technical guidance document. This will lead to greater confidence in the control of Listeria monocytogenes and thus to safer food.

  Sponsored by the IAFP Foundation

  Organized by the IAFP

  Download Slides

  Presenters

  • Hélène Bergis, Presenter ANSES: French Food Safety Agency
  • Paul in 't Veld, Presenter Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority
  • Florence Postollec, Presenter ADRIA
  • Mariem Ellouze, Moderator Nestlé Research Center

• Applying Behavioral Economics to Model the Threat of Food Fraud

  Apr 16, 2019

  Sponsored by: Battelle 
  
  Organized by: IAFP's Microbial Modelling and Risk Analysis PDG 
  
  Description: The food protection community is well-versed in applying mathematical modeling to estimate microbiological growth as part of assessing food safety hazards or estimating shelf life. In contrast, the application of mathematical modeling to estimate threat based on the behavioral trends is a less familiar, yet very relevant concept in food protection as food fraud incidents perpetrated by people rather than microbes impact both consumers and producers. 
  
  Behavioral economics' Utility theory, which has been used to predict trends ranging from consumer preference to terrorist threat, can be applied to proactively quantity the threat of food fraud to a supply chain based on a range of measurable ingredient characteristics. The concept of modeling human behavior and its application to food protection will be discussed and the specific use case of estimating food fraud will be presented in detail.

  Download Slides

  Presenters

  • Dr. Brian Hawkins, Presenter Research Leader and Program Manager, Battelle
  • Dr. Bala Kottapalli, Moderator Senior Principal Microbiologist, Conagra

• The Integration of Omics in Microbiological Risk Assessment

  Mar 27, 2019

  Sponsored by: ILSI Europe

  Organized by: Microbial Modelling and Risk Analysis PDG

  Description: Currently, with the possibilities to investigate microorganisms at molecular level, we are experiencing an exciting momentum in which we can exploit this information to better understand the ecology and physiology of foodborne pathogens. Even more intriguing is the possibility to integrate omics data into risk assessment schemes. It is expected that in the next future this will be used to better control pathogenic microorganisms in the food chain.

  After a discussion forum (IAFP Europe 2015), a workshop at IAFP Europe 2016 (co-organized by ILSI Europe, IAFP and ICFMH) a special issue resulted:
  Omics in MRA - the integration of omics in microbiological risk assessment
  International Journal of Food Microbiology 287, Pages 1-40 (20 December 2018)
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/international-journal-of-food-microbiology/vol/287/suppl/C

  These papers have the goal to describe the state of the art and create the foundation for a constructive discussion on how to best use, integrate and exploit omics data in MRA. In this webinar the outcome of these paper will be presented.

  Download Slides

  Presenters

  • Dr. Heidy den Besten, Presenter Wageningen University
  • Prof. Luca Cocolin, Presenter University of Turin
  • Dr. Annemarie Pielaat, Presenter Unilever
  • Dr. Alejandro Amezquita, Moderator Unilever

• The Role of Water Quality in Food Safety: Does Water Matter? - Part 3: Does Water Quality Matter to My Food Company?

  Jun 4, 2018

  An initiative of the Water Quality and Safety PDG of the International Association for Food Protection - where people who know and care about what water safety means to food safety gather and share their expertise.

  Part 1 gave the basics of EPA rules, drinking water monitoring, and disinfection.

  Part 2 described what hazards could be in compliant municipal drinking water. 

  Now In Part 3, learn what to do about it!

  First, University of Arizona’s Dr. Chuck Gerba explains the basics of Quantitative  Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) and how to determine your risk profile. EPA’s Ken Rotert highlights which EPA Rules and standards might impact food processing, and how to get information on your water supplier; Dr. Vince Hill of the CDC explains why we don’t hear much about water causing food contamination. Finally, hear valuable advice from Will Daniels, President, Produce Division, IEH Laboratories, with practical approaches to control your risk.

  This webinar is sponsored by the IAFP's Water Safety and Quality PDG, the Microbial Modeling & Risk Analysis PDG & Atlantium Technologies

  Download Slides

  Presenters

  • Chuck Gerba, Presenter Professor, Microbiology & Environmental Sciences, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Dept., University of Arizona
  • Kenneth Rotert, Presenter Physical Scientist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  • Vincent Hill, Presenter Chief, Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • Will Daniels, Presenter President, Produce Division, IEH Laboratories and Consulting Group
  • Phyllis Butler Posy, Moderator Vice President, Strategic & Regulatory Affairs, Atlantium Technologies

• Practical Applications of Microbial Modeling Webinar Series: Part III of III

  May 22, 2018

  Sponsored by 
  Microbial Modelling and Risk Analysis and Meat and Poultry Safety and Quality PDGs 
  
  Applications of microbial modeling and risk assessment are critically important to the food industry. This is part III in a webinar series that aims for a deeper-dive into practical considerations in applying modeling tools to inform decisions. Structured around specific food matrices (such as meat and poultry, multi-component foods, and fresh produce), the webinars will focus on examples that may be of practical applications in day-to-day problem-solving.

  Speaker's and Moderator Biographies

  Webinar Slides

  Additional Answers to Questions

  Presenters

  • Betsy Booren Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz PC
  • Yuhuan Chen FDA CFSAN
  • Tom Ross University of Tasmania.
  • Peter Taormina Etna Consulting Group
  • Marcel Zwietering Wageningen University
  • Bala Kottapalli, Moderator Conagra Brands

• Practical Applications of Microbial Modeling Webinar Series: Part II of III

  Mar 5, 2018

  Applications of microbial modeling and risk assessment are critically important to the food industry. This is part II in a webinar series that aims for a deeper-dive into practical considerations in applying modeling tools to inform decisions. Structured around specific food matrices (such as meat and poultry, multi-component foods, and fresh produce), the webinars will focus on examples that may be of practical applications in day-to-day problem-solving.

  Sponsored by Q Laboratories
  and
  IAFP Microbial Modelling and Risk Analysis and Meat and Poultry Safety and Quality Professional Development Groups

  Speaker and Moderator Biographies

  Webinar Slides

  Questions and Answers

  Presenters

  • Marcel Zwietering Professor, Wageningen University
  • Betsy Booren Senior Policy Advisor, Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz PC
  • Peter Taormina, Moderator President, Etna Consulting Group

• Practical Applications of Microbial Modeling Webinar Series: Part I of III

  Nov 29, 2017

  Applications of microbial modeling and risk assessment are critically important to the food industry. This webinar series aims for a deeper-dive into practical considerations in applying modeling tools to inform decisions. Structured around specific food matrices (such as meat and poultry, multi-component foods, and fresh produce), the webinars will focus on examples that may be of practical applications in day-to-day problem-solving.

  Download Slides

  Questions and Answers

  Presenters

  • Dr. Tom Ross University of Tasmania
  • Dr. Peter Taormina Etna Consulting Group
  • Dr. Betsy Booren, Moderator Olsson, Frank, Weeda, Terman, and Matz

• Dose-Response for Listeria monocytogenes presented by Microbial Modelling and Risk Analysis (MMRA) Professional Development Group (PDG)

  Jun 1, 2017

  The relationship between the number of ingested Listeria monocytogenes cells in food and the likelihood of developing listeriosis is not well understood. Various dose-response models, based on animal models, outbreak data or epidemiological date are currently available. During this webinar, we’ll recall the specific difficulties in deriving a dose-response for Listeria monocytogenes and describing the various models that are currently developed and used. We’ll present the unique data FDA obtained from recent outbreaks and explain if and how they helped our knowledge of this dose-response.

  Download Slides

  Presenters

  • Régis Pouillot Visting Scientist, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  • Fernando Perez Rodriguez Professor, University of Córdoba (Spain)

• MMRA PDG presents Modeling in Foods: Kinetics and Tools

  Apr 25, 2017

  Modeling kinetics in primary models, secondary models, and tertiary models involve microbiology, kinetics, mathematics, statistics, and tools. These aspects will be illustrated and examples of the tools IPMP and Baseline will be shown.

  Download Slides

  Presenters

  • Lihuan Huang USDA Agricultural Research Service
  • Antonio Valero Díaz University of Cordoba

• Modeling Variability and Uncertainty in Risk Assessment: a Case Study of Salmonella in Low-water Activity Foods and its Use in Decision Making

  Jun 8, 2016

  Microbial Modelling and Risk Analysis Professional Development Group Presents: Modeling Variability and Uncertainty in Risk Assessment: a Case Study of Salmonella in Low Water Activity Foods and its Use in Decision Making. The presence, survival and heat resistance of Salmonella in low-water activity foods is affected by many factors including environmental, processing and those inherent to the pathogen. The estimated risk of salmonellosis from consumption of these products is influenced by these factors as well as consumption patterns, production volume and population numbers. Variability in the value of each factor affects the risk of illness whereas uncertainty in the knowledge of each factor affects the risk estimate. The aim of this webinar is to provide an overview of strategies for incorporating variability and uncertainty in quantitative risk assessment models for Salmonella in low-water activity foods and describe the utility of doing so for the decision maker.

  Download Slides

  Presenters

  • Sofia Santillana Farakos
  • Regis Pouillot
  • Jenny Scott

• The Global Burden of Foodborne Disease - Results and perspectives of WHO’s Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG)

  Feb 9, 2016

  The WHO Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group is providing estimates of the global burden of foodborne diseases, according to age, sex and region, for a defined list of causative agents of microbial, parasitic, and chemical origin, thereby strengthening the capacity of countries to assess the burden of foodborne disease and increasing awareness and commitment for the implementation of food safety standards. These estimates provide valuable information for food safety professionals.

  This webinar is sponsored by Wageningen University, Marcel Zwietering, Leon Gorris, Arie Havelaar and an anonymous MMRA PDG Member.

  Webinar Slides

  View Webinar

  Presenters

  • Arie Hendrik Havelaar Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida
  • Marcel Zwietering, Moderator Wageningen University