Development of the CoHa Extended 24-hour Dietary Recall Method for Microbiological Risk Assessment

Unhygienic food-handling practices are thought to play a significant role in foodborne illnesses. In this study, the 24-hour dietary recall method was modified to include information related to microbiological hazards in foods. Questions about temperature control, storage time, cross-contamination, and food preparation were included for all highly perishable food items. A small-scale survey was carried out with 42 voluntary elderly persons as a test population. The dynamic nature of microbiological hazards presents challenges for food consumption data needed in quantitative microbiological risk assessment. The concentration of microbes may vary in foods via different mechanisms, including growth during storage, death due to inactivation steps, and transfer from one food item to other. The food consumption data usually used in risk assessment often lack information on food handling by consumers.

Useful data for risk assessment were obtained about the consumption, storage and cooking practices of the respondents, even though self-reported behavior may contain inaccuracies. This type of information can be used in both quantitative and qualitative risk assessments in order to evaluate the hazards to which consumers are exposed.