Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of foodborne illness for Campylobacter in ham.
Methods: To identify the hazard, the general characteristics of Campylobacter and campylobacteriosis outbreaks were searched. In exposure assessment, the prevalence of Campylobacter in ham (press ham and fermented ham), and conditions for distribution and storage of ham were surveyed, followed by fitting the data to @RISK Fitting program to find appropriate data distribution. Also, a predictive model of Campylobacter, and consumption amount and frequency for ham were investigated. Appropriate dose-response models for Campylobacter, which were utilized for hazard characterization, were searched though literatures. With the collected data, a simulation model with @RISK was developed to estimate the risk of Campylobacter in ham.
Results: The Campylobacter cell counts in 200 ham samples were below detection limit (0.7 log CFU/g). An equation [-Ln(1-Beta(p+1, n-p+1))/V] thus showed that the mean value of initial contamination level of Campylobacter on ham was -4.1 ± 0.6 log CFU/g. The probabilities of Campylobacter infection per person per day by intake of ham were 1.28 x 10-11 for mean and 1.10 x 10-9 for maximum value, which can be considered low risk. Also, the time and temperature for distribution and storage were important factors, influencing Campylobacter foodborne disease through ham consumption.
Significance: The result indicates that the risk of Campylobacter in ham is considered low in Korea, and the microbial risk assessment from this study can provide scientific evidences for risk management and risk communication.