Journal of Animal Science and Technology
Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology
Article

Quantitative Risk Assessment of Salmonella Foodborne Illness by Estimating Cooking Effect from Eggs from the Retail Markets

Hyemin Oh1,2, Yohan Yoon1,2, Jang Won Yoon3, Se-Wook Oh4, Soomin Lee2,*, Heeyoung Lee5,**
1Department of Food and Nutrition, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul 04310, Korea.
2Risk Analysis Research Center, Sookmyung Women’s University, , Seoul 04310, Korea.
3College of Veterinary Medicine & Institute of Veterinary Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Gangwon 24341, Korea.
4Department of Food and Nutrition, Kookmin University, Seoul 02703, Korea.
5Food Standard Research Center, Korea Food Research Institute, Wanju 55365, Korea.
**Corresponding Author: Soomin Lee, Risk Analysis Research Center, Sookmyung Women’s University, , Seoul 04310, Korea, Republic of. E-mail: slee0719@naver.com.
**Corresponding Author: Heeyoung Lee, Food Standard Research Center, Korea Food Research Institute, Wanju 55365, Korea, Republic of. E-mail: hylee06@kfri.re.kr.

© Copyright 2023 Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Jan 17, 2023; Revised: Jan 31, 2023; Accepted: Feb 08, 2023

Published Online: Feb 16, 2023

Abstract

In this study, we performed a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) of <italic>Salmonella </italic>through intake of egg consumption after cooking (dry-heat, moist-heat, and raw consumption). Egg samples (n=201) from retail markets were analyzed for the presence of <italic>Salmonella </italic>spp. In addition, temperature and time were investigated during egg transit, storage, and display. The development of predictive models to characterize the kinetic behavior of <italic>Salmonella</italic> in eggs and the collection of data on the amount and frequency of egg consumption. The data was simulated to estimate egg-related foodborne illnesses. <italic>Salmonella </italic>was not found in any of the 201 egg samples that were tested for it. Thus, the estimated initial contamination level was –4.0 Log CFU/g. With <italic>R<sup>2</sup></italic>values of 0.898 and 0.922, respectively, the constructed prediction models were adequate for explaining the fate of <italic>Salmonella </italic>spp. in eggs throughout distribution and storage. Eggs were consumed raw (1.5%, 39.2 g), dry-heated (57.5%, 43.0 g), and moist-heated (41%, 36.1 g). The probability of foodborne <italic>Salmonella </italic>illness from the consumption of cooked eggs was evaluated to be 6.8×10<sup>-10</sup>. Additionally, the probability of foodborne illness not applied cooking methods was 1.9×10<sup>-7</sup>, indicating that <italic>Salmonella </italic>can be reduced by cooking. Therefore, the risk of <italic>Salmonella </italic>infection through consumption of eggs after cooking is low in S. Korea.

Keywords: Eggs; Salmonella; QMRA; Cooking method; Food safety