Start | Browse by Day | Author Index | Personal Scheduler

P3-164 Qualitative Risk Assessment of Toxoplasma gondii Infection from Meat Consumption in the United States

Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Exhibit Hall D (Indiana Convention Center)
Miao Guo, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Yuqing Ying, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Robert Buchanan, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Jitender Dubey, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD
Dolores Hill, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD
H. Ray Gamble, National Academy of Science Fellowships Office, Washington, DC
Jeffrey Jones, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Abani Pradhan, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Introduction: Toxoplasmosis, caused by Toxoplasma gondii, was identified as the fourth leading cause of hospitalizations and the second leading cause of deaths among 31 major foodborne pathogens in the U.S. with estimated 4,428 hospitalizations and 327 deaths annually.  It was estimated that approximately 50% of T. gondii infections were from ingestion of meat products.

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to develop (i) a risk profile that provides the background information of T. gondii infection, and (ii) a risk assessment framework that qualitatively analyze the risk caused by T. gondii from varied meat products consumed in the U.S.

Methods: Relevant studies were collected by searching PubMed and Google Scholar. Meta-analysis was used to calculate average weighted prevalence.  Risk estimation of different meats was analyzed by a qualitative risk assessment based on a farm-to-retail framework.

Results: Based on the weighted prevalence, it was found that risk for meats from free-range chicken, goat and lamb is higher than that from pig, cattle, and caged-chicken.  For fresh meat products, risk remained high at retail level unless meats had been frozen or moisture-enhanced. Our results showed that meat processing such as salting, freezing, and cooking were able to inactivate T. gondii cysts in meat products, while nitrite/nitrate, spice, drying, fermentation, low pH, and cold storage had no effect on the viability of T. gondii cysts. Thus, raw-fermented sausage, cured raw meat, dried meat products and fresh processed meat products are associated with higher infection risks compared with cooked meat products.

Significance: Risk profiling provided comprehensive knowledge of T. gondii infection. Specific meats linked to human toxoplasmosis were identified through the qualitative risk assessment. This study would serve as a reference for meat management control programs to determine the critical control points, and the foundation for future quantitative risk assessments.

Back to: Poster Session - Antimicrobials, Meat and Poultry, Microbial Food Spoilage, Seafood, Sanitation, Non-microbial Food Safety, Risk Assessment
<< Previous Abstract | Next Abstract >>