Towards a Food Safety Knowledge Base Applicable in Crisis Situations and Beyond

Abstract

In case of contamination in the food chain, fast action is required in order to reduce the numbers of affected people. In such situations, being able to predict the fate of agents in foods would help risk assessors and decision makers in assessing the potential effects of a specific contamination event and thus enable them to deduce the appropriate mitigation measures. One efficient strategy supporting this is using model based simulations. However, application in crisis situations requires ready-to-use and easy-to-adapt models to be available from the so-called food safety knowledge bases. Here, we illustrate this concept and its benefits by applying the modular open source software tools PMM-Lab and FoodProcess-Lab. As a fictitious sample scenario, an intentional ricin contamination at a beef salami production facility was modelled. Predictive models describing the inactivation of ricin were reviewed, relevant models were implemented with PMM-Lab, and simulations on residual toxin amounts in the final product were performed with FoodProcess-Lab. Due to the generic and modular modelling concept implemented in these tools, they can be applied to simulate virtually any food safety contamination scenario. Apart from the application in crisis situations, the food safety knowledge base concept will also be useful in food quality and safety investigations.

Introducing the Rapid Alert Supply Network Extractor (RASNEX) tool to mine supply chain information from food and feed contamination notifications in Europe

“…The Konstanz Information Miner (KNIME) [7,15] framework was chosen as a programming environment to implement RASNEX, since it is centered on data mining and data science. KNIME allows users to graphically program by building so-called workflows that combine software modules with diverse purposes, called nodes, to process data [16]. Edges define the information flow between nodes.…”

“…It is possible to import and combine many types of data into KNIME and to automatically create reports. In terms of risk management, the modular workflow-based approach [16] leads to a transparent, reproducible and transferable result. The KNIME platform includes different data analysis features allowing for applications in different research fields, e.g.…”

Do the Right Thing: A Conceptual Framework of Response Strategies Research of Crises Communication in the Global Restaurant Industry

“…Falenski et al [7] conducted an experiment to evaluate whether ready-to-use software-based models of food safety crises could help communicate risk quickly and efficiently to the public. The authors found that read-to-use models worked best in extreme cases of food safety compromise, like bioterrorism-type food contamination.…”

“…In the case of the food chain, actions taken need to be swift and efficient. The situation is even more urgent and requires extra efforts when human health is at risk [7].…”