Microbial Modeling for Food Safety: What are Some of the Potential Liability Issues?

Since the early 1990s, microbial modeling has become an increasingly important part of commercial food preparation and manufacturing. Using mathematical techniques and carefully designed experiments, one can make models to predict microbial growth, survival, or death and use those predictions to formulate and process foods efficiently and with minimal food safety risk. Today, many models exist in both public and private domains. However, they may not be used to their fullest potential for various reasons. One suggested reason is uncertainty over potential liability associated with their use if adverse consequences were to occur. A panel of five individuals representing academic, industry, regulatory, and law professions discussed various perspectives on this topic including risk management, the interplay between challenge studies and microbial models, and liability. The common theme was the critical importance of designing and using models responsibly. This careful use includes being explicit about and documenting assumptions, validating models for accuracy in relevant conditions, and documenting decisions based on model outputs. Decisions should be reviewed against the question “would 12 jurors think that this is a reasonable decision?” If the answer is “no,” then it is time to reconsider the decision.