title: Risk assessment of fungal spoilage: A case study of Aspergillus niger on yogurt.
abstract: A quantitative risk assessment model of yogurt spoilage by Aspergillus niger was developed based on a stochastic modeling approach for mycelium growth by taking into account the important sources of variability such as time-temperature conditions during the different stages of chill chain and individual spore behavior. Input parameters were fitted to the appropriate distributions and A. niger colony's diameter at each stage of the chill chain was estimated using Monte Carlo simulation. By combining the output of the growth model with the fungus prevalence, that can be estimated by the industry using challenge tests, the risk of spoilage translated to number of yogurt cups in which a visible mycelium of A. niger is being formed at the time of consumption was assessed. The risk assessment output showed that for a batch of 100,000 cups in which the percentage of contaminated cups with A. niger was 1% the predicted numbers (median (5th, 95thpercentiles)) of the cups with a visible mycelium at consumption time were 8 (5, 14). For higher percentages of 3, 5 and 10 the predicted numbers (median (5th, 95thpercentiles)) of the spoiled cups at consumption time were estimated to be 24 (16, 35), 39 (29, 52) and 80 (64, 94), respectively. The developed model can lead to a more effective risk-based quality management of yogurt and support the decision making in yogurt production.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Hygiene, Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece; Department of Food Science and Technology, Perrotis College, American Farm School, Thessaloniki 55102, Greece.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gougouli
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Hygiene, Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece. Electronic address: kkoutsou@agro.auth.gr.
authors.forename: Konstantinos P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Koutsoumanis
mesh_terms: D001234:Aspergillus niger / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005516:Food Microbiology; D063427:Food Quality; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D025282:Mycelium / Q000254:growth & development; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000254:growth & development; D013696:Temperature; D015014:Yogurt / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000592:standards
keywords: Aspergillus niger; Fungi; Model; Risk assessment; Spoilage; Yogurt