Evaluating Food Safety Interventions: Salmonella serovar variation in response to antimicrobial treatments and FSMA Capacity Building for Latin American Companies

The increase in global population directly impacts the demand for food, leading to a rise in international food trade to attain these necessities. This results in more complex food supply chains and increases their vulnerability to threats such as contamination or adulteration of food products. To effectively protect public health, more than one single approach to solve these problems is necessary, including the establishment of standardized regulatory standards and the implementation of targeted strategies to mitigate foodborne pathogens. This thesis explores two approaches to ensure food safety and protect public health, from the perspectives of microbial control of Salmonella and improving regulatory compliance in international stakeholders interested in exporting to the U.S. The first project investigates the difference in response to two chemical antimicrobial interventions (sodium hypochlorite and peracetic acid) of seven Salmonella serovars, both in biofilm and planktonic stages. Salmonella remains one of the leading causes of foodborne outbreaks worldwide, this could be related to the genetic differences that exist between serovars, including different mechanisms that would allow for some of them to be more tolerant to antimicrobial treatments. Additionally, it has been reported that bacterial biofilms are harder to remove from food contact surfaces than their planktonic counterparts. The findings of this study support this statement and evidence the need for the industry to re-evaluate their cleaning and disinfection practices, as treatment effectiveness varied between serovars. On the other hand, the second project focuses on evaluating the effect of food safety technical assistance on measurable food safety outcomes. Three food processing facilities from Latin America were selected to participate. During this study, we evaluated their performance by applying a scoring system to grade food safety regulatory compliance. In addition, environmental samples were collected, which served as an indication of training effectiveness. The results of this study evidence the importance of personalized in-person assistance in achieving successful results in capacity-building efforts.