A qualitative risk assessment approach to microbial foodborne hazards in Brazilian intensive pork production: A step towards risk prioritization

Abstract

The application of biosecurity measures in pig farms has prompted a shift in epidemiological reality, altering the risk profile attributed to the consumption of pork. The inspection of pig carcasses in Brazil is based on incisions and palpations to seek lesions mainly related to classic zoonotic diseases. We describe the use of a qualitative risk assessment from the farm to the table to characterize the risk of foodborne disease caused by biological hazards to humans due to the consumption of pork. The model was adapted from the Codex Alimentarius and comprises four steps: (I) hazard identification, (II) hazard characterization, (III) exposure assessment, and (IV) risk characterization. The exposure assessment step considers the release of hazards at a pre-harvest level (i.e., swine in herds) and the amplification or reduction of the release during the procedure to obtain pork from a carcass. Risk characterization is classified into five levels, from very low to very high. No hazard had very high risk, Salmonella sp. [nontyphoidal] had high risk, no hazard had moderate risk, seven hazards had low risk, and other hazards had very low risk. When the initial release was increased, the risk for hazards with higher adverse effects (e.g. C. botulinum, B. suis, and E. coli [STEC]) increased to very high or high. The uncertainty was very high for seven hazards and very low for three. These findings can help the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture discuss changes in the routine inspection of the carcasses of pigs raised in industrial systems in Brazil.