Quantitative Risk Assessment for Human Salmonellosis through the Consumption of Pork Sausage in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Abstract

A quantitative microbiology risk assessment was conducted to evaluate the risk of Salmonella infection to consumers of fresh pork sausages prepared at barbecues in Porto Alegre, Brazil. For the analysis, a prevalence of 24.4% positive pork sausages with a level of contamination between 0.03 and 460 CFU g−1 was assumed. Data related to frequency and habits of consumption were obtained by a questionnaire survey given to 424 people. A second-order Monte Carlo simulation separating the uncertain parameter of cooking time from the variable parameters was run. Of the people interviewed, 87.5% consumed pork sausage, and 85.4% ate it at barbecues. The average risk of salmonellosis per barbecue at a minimum cooking time of 15.6 min (worst-case scenario) was 6.24 × 10−4, and the risk assessed per month was 1.61 × 10−3. Cooking for 19 min would fully inactivate Salmonella in 99.9% of the cases. At this cooking time, the sausage reached a mean internal temperature of 75.7°C. The results of the quantitative microbiology risk assessment revealed that the consumption of fresh pork sausage is safe when cooking time is approximately 19 min, whereas undercooked pork sausage may represent a nonnegligible health risk for consumers.