Quantitative and qualitative analysis of airborne Listeria monocytogenes on ready-to-eat meats

Abstract

Chapter 1: Introduction Thesis Organization This thesis is organized into three chapters: the literature review, a manuscript and concluding remarks. The literature review cover information on bioaerosols and Listeria monocytogenes. The bioaerosols sections including: sources in food-production facilities, control measures, recovery and analysis, and challenges of bioaerosol research. The L. monocytogenes section covers: listeriosis, L. monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, and bioaerosols. This review is designed to provide an explanation of the problem of L, monocytogenes bioaerosols and why more research is needed. The manuscript is for a research project design to assess the risk airborne L. monocytogenes to RTE meats. The risk to the RTE products was assessed using two qualitative methods and direct plating onto a chromogenic media selective and differential for L. monocytogenes. The research was designed to see if the risk was dose dependent, differed based on product type and if it changed after 28 days of cold storage. The final chapter is concluding remarks in regard to research and the recommendations for future work.

An Agent‐Based Model for Pathogen Persistence and Cross‐Contamination Dynamics in a Food Facility

“…As new data become available, model inputs can be updated (Buchanan, Gorris, Hayman, Jackson, & Whiting, ). Further, additional transfer routes, such as airborne/aerosol transmission (Byrne, Lyng, Dunne, & Bolton, ; Vontayson, ), may be added as data become sufficient to characterize these processes. With further work, such as development of a user‐friendly graphical interface, this model also could be a valuable tool for industry and regulatory agencies as they seek to reduce the burden of foodborne disease associated with microbiological contamination.…”