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An Agent‐Based Model for Pathogen Persistence and Cross‐Contamination Dynamics in a Food Facility

We used an agent‐based modeling (ABM) framework and developed a mathematical model to explain the complex dynamics of microbial persistence and spread within a food facility and to aid risk managers in identifying effective mitigation options. The model explicitly considered personal hygiene practic...

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Autores principales: Mokhtari, Amir, Van Doren, Jane M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7379630/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30321463
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/risa.13215
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author Mokhtari, Amir
Van Doren, Jane M.
author_facet Mokhtari, Amir
Van Doren, Jane M.
author_sort Mokhtari, Amir
collection PubMed
description We used an agent‐based modeling (ABM) framework and developed a mathematical model to explain the complex dynamics of microbial persistence and spread within a food facility and to aid risk managers in identifying effective mitigation options. The model explicitly considered personal hygiene practices by food handlers as well as their activities and simulated a spatially explicit dynamic system representing complex interaction patterns among food handlers, facility environment, and foods. To demonstrate the utility of the model in a decision‐making context, we created a hypothetical case study and used it to compare different risk mitigation strategies for reducing contamination and spread of Listeria monocytogenes in a food facility. Model results indicated that areas with no direct contact with foods (e.g., loading dock and restroom) can serve as contamination niches and recontaminate areas that have direct contact with food products. Furthermore, food handlers’ behaviors, including, for example, hygiene and sanitation practices, can impact the persistence of microbial contamination in the facility environment and the spread of contamination to prepared foods. Using this case study, we also demonstrated benefits of an ABM framework for addressing food safety in a complex system in which emergent system‐level responses are predicted using a bottom‐up approach that observes individual agents (e.g., food handlers) and their behaviors. Our model can be applied to a wide variety of pathogens, food commodities, and activity patterns to evaluate efficacy of food‐safety management practices and quantify contamination reductions associated with proposed mitigation strategies in food facilities.
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spelling pubmed-73796302020-07-24 An Agent‐Based Model for Pathogen Persistence and Cross‐Contamination Dynamics in a Food Facility Mokhtari, Amir Van Doren, Jane M. Risk Anal Original Research Articles We used an agent‐based modeling (ABM) framework and developed a mathematical model to explain the complex dynamics of microbial persistence and spread within a food facility and to aid risk managers in identifying effective mitigation options. The model explicitly considered personal hygiene practices by food handlers as well as their activities and simulated a spatially explicit dynamic system representing complex interaction patterns among food handlers, facility environment, and foods. To demonstrate the utility of the model in a decision‐making context, we created a hypothetical case study and used it to compare different risk mitigation strategies for reducing contamination and spread of Listeria monocytogenes in a food facility. Model results indicated that areas with no direct contact with foods (e.g., loading dock and restroom) can serve as contamination niches and recontaminate areas that have direct contact with food products. Furthermore, food handlers’ behaviors, including, for example, hygiene and sanitation practices, can impact the persistence of microbial contamination in the facility environment and the spread of contamination to prepared foods. Using this case study, we also demonstrated benefits of an ABM framework for addressing food safety in a complex system in which emergent system‐level responses are predicted using a bottom‐up approach that observes individual agents (e.g., food handlers) and their behaviors. Our model can be applied to a wide variety of pathogens, food commodities, and activity patterns to evaluate efficacy of food‐safety management practices and quantify contamination reductions associated with proposed mitigation strategies in food facilities. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2018-10-15 2019-05 /pmc/articles/PMC7379630/ /pubmed/30321463 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/risa.13215 Text en Published 2018. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Risk Analysis published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Risk Analysis. This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
spellingShingle Original Research Articles
Mokhtari, Amir
Van Doren, Jane M.
An Agent‐Based Model for Pathogen Persistence and Cross‐Contamination Dynamics in a Food Facility
title An Agent‐Based Model for Pathogen Persistence and Cross‐Contamination Dynamics in a Food Facility
title_full An Agent‐Based Model for Pathogen Persistence and Cross‐Contamination Dynamics in a Food Facility
title_fullStr An Agent‐Based Model for Pathogen Persistence and Cross‐Contamination Dynamics in a Food Facility
title_full_unstemmed An Agent‐Based Model for Pathogen Persistence and Cross‐Contamination Dynamics in a Food Facility
title_short An Agent‐Based Model for Pathogen Persistence and Cross‐Contamination Dynamics in a Food Facility
title_sort agent‐based model for pathogen persistence and cross‐contamination dynamics in a food facility
topic Original Research Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7379630/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30321463
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/risa.13215
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