S07 - Surrogate Microorganisms: Selection, Use, and Validation

Macleod BC
Organizers: Jeffrey Kornacki and Vickie Lewandowski
Convenors: Jeffrey Kornacki and Peter Slade

1:30 Surrogate Microorganism Overview —­ Peter Slade, National Center for Food Safety & Technology, Moffet Center, Summit-Argo, IL, USA

2:00  Selection and Validation of Surrogate Microorganisms — Bassam Annous, USDA, Wyndmoor, PA, USA

2:30 Development of Surrogate Microorganisms for Use in Meat Systems — James Dickson, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

3:00 Break

3:30  Surrogates for Viral Pathogens: Selection, Validation, and Use — Efstathia Papfragkou, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

4:00  Industry Case Studies, Applied Use of Surrogate Microorganisms— Timothy Freier, Cargill, Minneapolis, MN, USA

4:30 Industry Case Studies, Applied Use of Surrogate Microorganisms — Jeffrey Kornacki, Kornacki Microbiology Solutions, LLC, McFarland, WI, USA

Abstract

Crucial to the implementation of an effective HACCP plan is validation of the Critical Limits (CLs) associated with the Critical Control Points (CCPs). This can be a daunting task given the dynamic nature of some processes that render laboratory-based challenge studies either impractical or too costly to conduct.  Other approaches to validation may lack scientific rigor such as extrapolation from disparate food matrices, tradition, or a presumed lack of foodborne illness, etc. In some instances it is undesirable to work directly with a pathogen in the laboratory due to risk or difficulty in its recovery. Thus there is a need for the use of non-pathogenic microbes with correlated growth or survival kinetics to the pathogen of concern.  Use of appropriate surrogate microorganisms enables companies to perform pilot and perhaps factory scale CL validations without the risk associated with use of a pathogen or the need for an on site pathogen laboratory.  FDA and USDA have encouraged the use of surrogates for validation of CLs, however many technical questions must be considered.  In other cases, the use of surrogates for undesirable spoilage organisms may also be desirable.  This symposium will address these issues and provide examples of appropriate selection, validation and use of surrogate microorganisms.