Page 65 - FoodFocusThailand No.221 August 2024

STRONG QC & QA

4. Determination of the risk (b). With this knowledge, fish manufacturers can identify the target microorganism
level. This involves determining the and work towards reducing or eliminating it to a safe level for customers. The
consumers’ risk level for common target microorganisms remain the same when the production process is switched
foodborne pathogens using the data from canning to vacuum packaging. However, when fish products are consumed
from steps 1-3. The risk level can be raw or unprocessed, such as sashimi or sushi (c), parasites are microorganisms
determined in two ways: qualitatively that need to be avoided, minimized, or eliminated to a safe level. Thus, the
by expressing the presence or manufacturers of these three categories of fish products— canned fish (a), vacuum-
absence of risk, or quantitatively by packed fish (b), and raw fish (c)—need to have procedures in place to control at
determining a high or low risk rating. least two types of target microorganisms.
An example of a qualitative risk Regarding cooked prawns that are marketed to the general public, it is evident
level assessment using a decision that at least two strains of Vibrio sp., specifically V. parahaemolyticus and
tree and an example of a quantitative V. cholerae, contribute to a risk with equivalent severity. However, compared to
risk level determination using the
Australian Food Safety Centre of
Excellence’s Risk Ranger program,
which was developed based on a
study by Ross and Summer (2002),
is available on their website .
1
Following the completion of 11
questions, the system will process
the data and display the risk level
rating and data on the likelihood of
a consumer becoming ill on a daily
and annual basis within the
population of a particular nation or
for the population size according to
the manufacturer data.

Results of the Risk
Assessment of Foodborne
Pathogens in Seafood
Considering the results of the risk
assessment of foodborne pathogens
in seafood for the Australian
population, as shown in Table 1,
along with the report on the number
of cases caused by foodborne
pathogen exposure related to food
products specified in the table, there
was no case reported when the
assessment results showed a risk
level of less than 32. However, few
cases were reported when the risk
levels ranged between 32 and 48
with the exception of Vibrio cholerae,
which had more cases reported
compared to other pathogens of
comparable risk. A large number of
cases were reported when the risk
level was higher than 48.
The results displayed in the
above table indicate that the general
public may be susceptible to illness
due to the same microorganism,
C. botulinum, in raw materials that
undergo different production
processes and are packaged in
various ways, such as canned
packaging (a) and vacuum packaging

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