Development of Predictive Microbial Models for Food Safety and Their Associated Use in International Microbial Databases

<OL> <LI> Develop predictive models that quantify growth kinetics and/or survival behavior of high priority pathogens (including but not limited to Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Clostridium perfringens, and Staphylococcus aureus) in foods or food systems. This includes development of predictive models that quantify growth and/or inactivation kinetics of pathogens in food systems during heating and cooling. 1A: Pathogen Behavior in RTE Foods, Liquid Egg Products, and Produce - Measure and model pathogen growth in RTE foods, liquid egg products, and pre-packaged produce as a function of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, pathogen strain and physiological state, and natural background microflora. 1B: Thermal Inactivation Studies - Define combinations of intrinsic and extrinsic factors that delineate minimum heat treatments for pathogen lethality. 1C: Time-Temperature Conditions for Cooling Cooked Meat - Evaluate excessive time in cooling of heated meat and poultry products supplemented with additives to determine if the product remains safe. </LI><LI>Develop methods for application in predictive microbiology that are allied to Objective 1. For example: computer simulation of bacterial growth and inactivation under dynamic conditions, and simulation of the growth, inactivation and survival of foodborne pathogens in the presence of competing background flora. </LI><LI> Extend technology transfer through the expansion and continued maintenance of the Pathogen Modeling Program (PMP) and the Predictive Microbiology Information Portal (PMIP). Develop a computational framework to make the PMP compatible with Combase, and continue to support the development of ComBase with our associated partners (the Institute of Food Research [IFR] and the University of Tasmania [UTAS]) as an international data resource.
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