Combining Quantitative Risk Assessment of Human Health, Food Waste, and Energy Consumption: The Next Step in the Development of the Food Cold Chain?

Energy consumption and quality improvement of frozen pork using NaCl refrigerant with three amino acids in contact immersion freezing

Maintaining low-energy consumption and improving the quality of frozen pork contribute to the sustainability of the meat industry. This study used a 23.5 % sodium chloride (NaCl) solution as the control refrigerant (NIF). It investigated the effects of substituting 10 % of NaCl in the refrigerant with three amino acids (l-lysine, l-proline, or l-arginine) on energy consumption and pork quality improvement in contact immersion freezing. Results indicated that l-proline among three amino acids could mitigate the increase in specific heat capacity, the decrease in thermal conductivity, and the unfrozen water content of pork caused by the reduction of NaCl via mitigating the increase in specific heat capacity, the decrease in thermal conductivity, and the thermal diffusion coefficient of the refrigerant, thus maintaining the freezing energy conservation and efficiency (reduced freezing time) of the NIF group. The incorporation of l-proline also effectively reduced NaCl infiltration into the pork and improved its color quality. This study provides a new refrigerant for contact immersion freezing in the meat industry, offering low-energy consumption and improved frozen meat quality.

Consumer behavior at sale point and consumption according to strawberry quality: How to use those data to evaluate food waste?

Fresh fruits and vegetables present some of the highest food loss rates, due to their high perishability. The ability to model food waste and loss is key to understanding the levers for its reduction and evaluating which parameters are the most impactful. The highest food waste occurs at consumer level. Therefore, consumer behavior must be understood to accurately model food waste. In the present study, a quantitative consumer survey was performed among 509 French consumers to understand their behavior when purchasing, storing, and eating strawberries. The results of the survey were used to create several purchasing groups, with different purchase intentions and consumption behaviors, and were combined with a state-of-the-art deterioration model to evaluate food waste. Seven scenarios were tested by varying the initial deterioration of strawberries at the supermarket. A first and most expected result of the model was the significant impact of storage management habits (temperature and duration) on the resulting food waste: all the trays that went from 0 to 1% deterioration at the supermarket to more than 95% at consumption were kept in ambient conditions. Moreover, the predicted food waste was between 9.4 and 57.5% depending on the initial deterioration at the supermarket, highlighting the impact of the upstream supply chain before retailers on food waste at the consumer level. Finally, the results showed a non-linear relationship between deterioration and consumption, and thus, food waste. By considering this diversity of consumer behaviors, this model proposes a more accurate link between deterioration and food waste compared with the existing literature.

Contribution to energy conservation and quality improvement of frozen pork via contact/contactless immersion freezing in NaCl solution

High energy consumption and quality deterioration are major challenges in the meat freezing process. In this study, the energy consumption and qualities of frozen pork were investigated using three freezing methods: nonpackaged pork air freezing (NAF), contactless immersion freezing (PIF) and contact immersion freezing (NIF) with NaCl solution as a refrigerant. The results indicated that NIF could improve the energy conservation and freezing efficiency in >4 freezing treatment-times by increasing the unfrozen water content, decreasing the frozen heat load, shortening the freezing time and reducing evaporation loss. NIF could also increase the a* value of the pork and improve the water-holding capacity by facilitating the conversion of free water to immobilized-water. The two immersion freezing methods could reduce freezing-thawing loss and protein loss by alleviating muscle tissue freezing damage. These results provide a suitable application of immersion freezing with energy conservation, high efficiency and good quality of frozen-pork.

Trends in Burdens of Disease by Transmission Source (USA, 2005-2020) and Hazard Identification for Foods: Focus on Milkborne Disease

BACKGROUND

Robust solutions to global, national, and regional burdens of communicable and non-communicable diseases, particularly related to diet, demand interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary collaborations to effectively inform risk analysis and policy decisions.

OBJECTIVE

U.S. outbreak data for 2005-2020 from all transmission sources were analyzed for trends in the burden of infectious disease and foodborne outbreaks.

METHODS

Outbreak data from 58 Microsoft Access® data tables were structured using systematic queries and pivot tables for analysis by transmission source, pathogen, and date. Trends were examined using graphical representations, smoothing splines, Spearman's rho rank correlations, and non-parametric testing for trend. Hazard Identification was conducted based on the number and severity of illnesses.

RESULTS

The evidence does not support increasing trends in the burden of infectious foodborne disease, though strongly increasing trends were observed for other transmission sources. Morbidity and mortality were dominated by person-to-person transmission; foodborne and other transmission sources accounted for small portions of the disease burden. Foods representing the greatest hazards associated with the four major foodborne bacterial diseases were identified. Fatal foodborne disease was dominated by fruits, vegetables, peanut butter, and pasteurized dairy.

CONCLUSION

The available evidence conflicts with assumptions of zero risk for pasteurized milk and increasing trends in the burden of illness for raw milk. For future evidence-based risk management, transdisciplinary risk analysis methodologies are essential to balance both communicable and non-communicable diseases and both food safety and food security, considering scientific, sustainable, economic, cultural, social, and political factors to support health and wellness for humans and ecosystems.

Exploring sustainable energy consumption and social conflict risks in Turkey: Insights from a novel multiresolution ARDL approach

Nonrenewable energy sources have been shown to be a cause of conflict and terrorism, highlighting the global conflict aspect, but little is known about the causal relationship between the energy system and terrorism in Turkey. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the causal links among renewable energy consumption, fossil fuels, terrorist attacks, education, trade opening, and geopolitical risks in Turkey from 1980 to 2016. Using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach and Granger causality tests, the study analyzes the short and long-term relationships between the variables. Additionally, robustness tests are conducted using a powerful multiresolution ARDL approach to ensure the stability of the statistical findings. The results reveal the existence of long-term relationships between all the variables, particularly among terrorism, renewable energy, and education. In the short term, a one-way relationship exists between terrorism and education to renewable energies and from trade openness to terrorism. The study demonstrates that nonrenewable energy increases terrorism in the long term, whereas renewable energy and trade openness reduce terrorism, highlighting the potential impact of global conflicts on Turkey's sustainable development. Therefore, renewable energy is a powerful tool to fight against terrorism, and Turkey has encouraged its use and deployment of diplomatic efforts to resolve political and military conflicts, particularly in the Middle East. This study provides insights into the complex relationship among sustainable energy consumption, terrorism, education, and trade opening, contributing to the understanding of the geopolitical risks and economics in Turkey. It has implications for policymakers in the region, highlighting the importance of renewable energy and trade openness as tools for conflict resolution and sustainable development in the face of global conflicts.

A Critical Review of Risk Assessment Models for Listeria monocytogenes in Meat and Meat Products

A review of the published quantitative risk assessment (QRA) models of L. monocytogenes in meat and meat products was performed, with the objective of appraising the intervention strategies deemed suitable for implementation along the food chain as well as their relative effectiveness. A systematic review retrieved 23 QRA models; most of them (87%) focused on ready-to-eat meat products and the majority (78%) also covered short supply chains (end processing/retail to consumption, or consumption only). The processing-to-table scope was the choice of models for processed meats such as chorizo, bulk-cooked meat, fermented sausage and dry-cured pork, in which the effects of processing were simulated. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated the importance of obtaining accurate estimates for lag time, growth rate and maximum microbial density, in particular when affected by growth inhibitors and lactic acid bacteria. In the case of deli meats, QRA models showed that delicatessen meats sliced at retail were associated with a higher risk of listeriosis than manufacture pre-packed deli meats. Many models converged on the fact that (1) controlling cold storage temperature led to greater reductions in the final risk than decreasing the time to consumption and, furthermore, that (2) lower numbers and less prevalence of L. monocytogenes at the end of processing were far more effective than keeping low temperatures and/or short times during retail and/or home storage. Therefore, future listeriosis QRA models for meat products should encompass a processing module in order to assess the intervention strategies that lead to lower numbers and prevalence, such as the use of bio-preservation and novel technologies. Future models should be built upon accurate microbial kinetic parameters, and should realistically represent cross-contamination events along the food chain.

Suppression of pathogens in properly refrigerated raw milk

Conflicting claims exist regarding pathogen growth in raw milk. A small pilot study was designed to provide definitive data on trends for pathogen growth and decline in raw bovine milk hygienically produced for direct human consumption. An independent laboratory conducted the study, monitoring growth and decline of pathogens inoculated into raw milk. Raw milk samples were inoculated with foodborne pathogens (Campylobacter, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, or Salmonella) at lower (<162 colony forming units (CFU) per mL) and higher levels (<8,300 CFU/mL). Samples were stored at 4.4°C and quantified over time after inoculation (days 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 14) by standard culture-based methods. Statistical analysis of trends using the Mann-Kendall Trend Test and Analysis of Variance were conducted for 48 time series observations. Evidence of pathogen growth was documented for L. monocytogenes in 8 of 12 replicates (P = 0.001 to P = 0.028). Analysis of variance confirmed significant increases for L. monocytogenes at both initial levels in week 2. No evidence of growth was documented over 14 days for the three pathogens predominantly associated with raw milk outbreaks in the US (Campylobacter, E. coli O157:H7, and Salmonella). Further research is needed to characterize parameters for pathogen growth and decline to support re-assessment of risks that were based on incorrect assumptions about interactions of pathogens with the raw milk microbiota.

Data-Driven Analysis of Risk-Assessment Methods for Cold Food Chains

The problem of cold-chain food safety is becoming increasingly prominent. Cold food chain risk assessment is an important way to ensure cold-chain food safety. Using CiteSpace, this study analyzes the knowledge map of research hotspots in the field of cold-chain food safety over the past 18 years, identifies the research keywords, presents the centrality statistics, and calculates the cluster values and average cluster contour values. Adopting a data-driven perspective, risk-assessment methods for cold food chains are summarized based on qualitative risk assessment, quantitative risk assessment, and comprehensive qualitative and quantitative risk assessment. The advantages and disadvantages of each are summarized. Finally, the problems and challenges in current cold food chain risk-assessment research are summarized in three aspects: the data credibility of cold food chain traceability systems, cold-chain food safety audit methods, and nontraditional cold food chain risk assessment. Suggestions are given for strengthening the cold food chain risk-assessment system to provide a decision-making reference to help regulatory authorities take risk prevention and control measures.

Point-of-care CRISPR/Cas biosensing technology: A promising tool for preventing the possible COVID-19 resurgence caused by contaminated cold-chain food and packaging

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused great public health concern and has been a global threat due to its high transmissibility and morbidity. Although the SARS-CoV-2 transmission mainly relies on the person-to-person route through the respiratory droplets, the possible transmission through the contaminated cold-chain food and packaging to humans has raised widespread concerns. This review discussed the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via the contaminated cold-chain food and packaging by tracing the occurrence, the survival of SARS-CoV-2 in the contaminated cold-chain food and packaging, as well as the transmission and outbreaks related to the contaminated cold-chain food and packaging. Rapid, accurate, and reliable diagnostics of SARS-CoV-2 is of great importance for preventing and controlling the COVID-19 resurgence. Therefore, we summarized the recent advances on the emerging clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas system-based biosensing technology that is promising and powerful for preventing the possible COVID-19 resurgence caused by the contaminated cold-chain food and packaging during the COVID-19 pandemic, including CRISPR/Cas system-based biosensors and their integration with portable devices (e.g., smartphone, lateral flow assays, microfluidic chips, and nanopores). Impressively, this review not only provided an insight on the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 transmission through the food supply chain, but also proposed the future opportunities and challenges on the development of CRISPR/Cas system-based detection methods for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2.

An integrated literature review on sustainable food supply chains: Exploring research themes and future directions

The sustainable food supply chain (SFSC) is a research area of global significance. The increasing number of research articles in SFSC justifies this. With 80% of publications in SFSC coming up in the last 7 years, this field is expanding and diversifying at a rapid rate. The research on sustainable food supply chain (SFSC) covers a wide variety of areas and has a wide range of research themes in FSC. To facilitate the theoretical understanding of SFSC, we have conducted a review of the literature on SFSC. With the aim to define prominent research themes in SFSC, we follow an integrated review approach of structured literature review (SLR), bibliometric analysis, and thematic analysis. Bibliometric analysis was conducted using the vosviewer software version 1.6.16. The thematic analysis identified- "Waste management", "SC sustainability and impact assessment", "Decision support", "Operations management and optimization", "Food quality and safety", "Sustainable business models", "Innovation and technological solution", "SC strategy", and "Social sustainability" as the key emergent themes. We discuss the conceptual and theoretical basis of each of these themes. "SC sustainability and impact assessment" is identified as the most dominant theme in SFSC. Innovation and technological solution is an emerging theme with many new publications related to disruptive technologies coming up. Research in collaboration and decision theory-based approaches is important to enable sustainability in FSC. Quantifying waste streams, identifying hotspots are important future directions of research in SFSCM. Circular economy, AFSC, and the use of advanced technologies to enable circularity and sustainability also have great scope. The review aims to help researchers and academicians understand the boundaries and domain of SFSC and the future scope of these themes about how they can enhance the sustainability in SFSC.

Sustainable Home Meal Replacement (HMR) Consumption in Korea: Exploring Service Strategies Using a Modified Importance-Performance Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed traditional consumer consumption behavior and requires a new service strategy to cope with sustainable consumption. Moreover, it is necessary to focus academic attention on consumer behavior to cook and eat more easily amid Korea’s socioeconomic changes such as the increase in single-person households, aging, rising prices, and continuing economic recession. In this study, we used a revised importance–performance analysis (IPA) to identify specific measures to improve consumer satisfaction with home meal replacements (HMRs). An online survey of Korean adults who had purchased HMRs was conducted based on a convenience sampling method. According to the results, items that could be intensively improved were the ‘introduction of new dishes’, ‘creation of various flavors’, ‘cost-effectiveness, and ‘reasonable price’, whereas ‘easy to prepare’, ‘easily available’, and ‘identified country of origin’ received favorable assessments. With the growth of the non-face-to-face economy due to COVID-19, our findings suggest marketing strategies for sustainable HMR consumption.

Review: Quality of animal-source foods

This article critically reviews the current state of knowledge on the quality of animal-source foods according to animal production and food processing conditions, including consumer expectations-behaviours and the effects of consumption of animal-source foods on human health. Quality has been defined through seven core attributes: safety, commercial, sensory, nutritional, technological, convenience, and image. Image covers ethical, cultural and environmental dimensions associated with the origin of the food and the way it is produced and processed. This framework enabled to highlight the priorities given to the different quality attributes. It also helped to identify potential antagonisms and synergies among quality attributes, between production and processing stages, and among stakeholders. Primacy is essentially given to commercial quality attributes, especially for standard commodity animal-source foods. This primacy has strongly influenced genetic selection and farming practices in all livestock commodity chains and enabled substantial quantitative gains, although at the expense of other quality traits. Focal issues are the destructuration of chicken muscle that compromises sensory, nutritional and image quality attributes, and the fate of males in the egg and dairy sectors, which have heavily specialised their animals. Quality can be gained but can also be lost throughout the farm-to-fork continuum. Our review highlights critical factors and periods throughout animal production and food processing routes, such as on-farm practices, notably animal feeding, preslaughter and slaughter phases, food processing techniques, and food formulation. It also reveals on-farm and processing factors that create antagonisms among quality attributes, such as the castration of male pigs, the substitution of marine-source feed by plant-based feed in fish, and the use of sodium nitrite in meat processing. These antagonisms require scientific data to identify trade-offs among quality attributes and/or solutions to help overcome these tensions. However, there are also food products that value synergies between quality attributes and between production and processing phases, particularly Geographical Indications, such as for cheese and dry-cured ham. Human epidemiological studies have found associations between consumption of animal-source foods and increased or decreased risk for chronic non-communicable diseases. These associations have informed public health recommendations. However, they have not yet considered animal production and food processing conditions. A concerted and collaborative effort is needed from scientists working in animal science, food process engineering, consumer science, human nutrition and epidemiology in order to address this research gap. Avenues for research and main options for policy action are discussed.

Review: Pork quality attributes from farm to fork. Part II. Processed pork products

Pork is often consumed in a very wide variety of products, processed from integral cuts or minced meat using different conservation methods (curing, smoking, cooking, drying, fermenting). Quality of pork products results from a combination between the properties of the raw material and the processing conditions to elaborate the final products. The influence of primary production factors, slaughtering and carcass processing on the quality of fresh pork has been reviewed (part 1), considering quality as an integrative combination of various attributes: commercial, organoleptic, nutritional, technological, convenience, and societal image, the latter denotes cultural, ethical (including animal welfare) and environment dimensions related to the way pork is produced, processed, and its geographical origin. This review (part 2) focuses on the influence of primary production factors and processing techniques on the quality of two important and economically significant processed pork products issued from contrasting processing techniques: cooked ham and dry-cured ham. As with fresh pork, many factors influence the quality of processed products, and one factor can affect several attributes. Moreover, in the case of processed products, numerous factors in both animal production and processing steps interact to determine their quality attributes. The quality of cooked ham depends on the properties of the raw material (in particular pH, colour, water holding capacity, presence of destructured meat defect, etc.) which are determined by pig husbandry practices (especially the genotype), pre-, postslaughter and processing conditions including the composition of curing mixture (ingredients, additives), salting, mixing and heat treatment. Processing techniques of cooked ham aim at homogenising the product quality within a given quality category (e.g. 'standard' or 'superior') or brand. Therefore, the variability of raw material is problematic for the cooked ham processing industry, which generally seeks uniformity and homogeneity of fresh hams. Likewise, pig husbandry conditions exert even greater impact on dry-cured ham quality. Indeed, the properties of raw material (including weight of fresh ham, fat thickness, pH, intramuscular fat and antioxidants content, fatty acid profile, etc.) that result from combined effects of primary production factors (genotype, feeding, production system, etc.) interact with processing conditions (salting, drying, ripening conditions and duration, etc.) to elaborate the quality attributes of the final products. Synergies can be sought between the primary production factors and processing techniques leading to specific organoleptic characteristics (texture, taste, aroma, flavour, etc.) that can be valued by quality labels. Quality of products is thus built along the whole chain from farm to fork.

A review of epidemic investigation on cold-chain food-mediated SARS-CoV-2 transmission and food safety consideration during COVID-19 pandemic

COVID‐19 has brought speculations on potential transmission routes of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), the causal agent of the pandemic. It is reported that the main route of virus transmission to be person‐to‐person by respiratory droplets; however, people have raised concerns on the possible transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 to humans via food and packaging and its potential effects on food safety. This review discusses food safety issues in the COVID‐19 pandemic and reveals its possible transmission in cold‐chain food. The first outbreak of COVID‐19 in late 2019 was associated with a seafood market in Wuhan, China, while the second outbreak of COVID‐19 in June 2020 was also related to a seafood market in Beijing, China. As of 2020, several frozen seafood products linked with SARS‐CoV‐2 have been reported in China. According to the current survey and scientific studies, the risk of infection by SARS‐CoV‐2 from cold‐chain food, food products, and food packaging is thought to be very low. However, studies on food cold chain contamination have shown that SARS‐CoV‐2 remained highly stable under refrigerated (4°C) and even in freezing conditions (−10 to −80°C). Since one mode of SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission appears to be touching contaminated surfaces, it is important to clean and sanitize food contact surfaces properly. Understanding food safety hazard risks is essential to avoid potential negative health effects and SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission in the food supply chain during the COVID‐19 pandemic.

Interactions between Microbial Food Safety and Environmental Sustainability in the Fresh Produce Supply Chain

Improving the environmental sustainability of the food supply chain will help to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This environmental sustainability is related to different SDGs, but mainly to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 12 (Responsible Production and Consumption), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). The strategies and measures used to improve this aspect of the food supply chain must remain in balance with other sustainability aspects (economic and social). In this framework, the interactions and possible conflicts between food supply chain safety and sustainability need to be assessed. Although priority must be given to safety aspects, food safety policies should be calibrated in order to avoid unnecessary deleterious effects on the environment. In the present review, a number of potential tensions and/or disagreements between the microbial safety and environmental sustainability of the fresh produce supply chain are identified and discussed. The addressed issues are spread throughout the food supply chain, from primary production to the end-of-life of the products, and also include the handling and processing industry, retailers, and consumers. Interactions of fresh produce microbial safety with topics such as food waste, supply chain structure, climate change, and use of resources have been covered. Finally, approaches and strategies that will prove useful to solve or mitigate the potential contradictions between fresh produce safety and sustainability are described and discussed. Upon analyzing the interplay between microbial safety and the environmental sustainability of the fresh produce supply chain, it becomes clear that decisions that are taken to ensure fresh produce safety must consider the possible effects on environmental, economic, and social sustainability aspects. To manage these interactions, a global approach considering the interconnections between human activities, animals, and the environment will be required.

Integrated risk prioritization and action selection for cold chain

Cold chain, which affects human health and quality of life, is applied for temperature-sensitive and perishable products. Any problems occurring in the cold chain can cause deterioration in products, causing poisoning, death, or various diseases. There are many stages in the cold chain itself and the risk significance level of each stage is different. Therefore, the risks that occur depending on the weight of the stages in the cold chain should be defined and minimized and action plans are needed to be formed. Every action in the action plan cannot be implemented simultaneously since each action requires a different amount of budget and time resources of the companies are finite. Hence, the risks occurring in the cold chain should be minimized with the maximum use of limited company resources. In this study, an integrated mathematical model with analytical hierarchy method and failure mode and effect analysis is proposed that will maximize the weighted risk reduction amount by considering the budget and time constraints of the companies at the same time. The proposed approach has been applied in the 3PL service provider and the results are discussed. According to the results of the study where maximum benefit is aimed with the actions taken against the dangers, the maximum objective function value was obtained at the second and third levels of the workforce and budget values by evaluating the different situations with scenario analyses. In this solution, it is foreseen that by taking 5 actions, improvement will be made in 14 hazards.

Food Safety Implications of Transitions Toward Sustainable Healthy Diets

Despite increased political attention, foodborne diseases still cause a substantial public health, economic, and social burden worldwide. Children younger than 5 years, people living in developing regions, and in the poorest areas of the world are disproportionally affected, bearing a large proportion of the global burden of foodborne disease. Yet, food safety is a prerequisite to ensuring food security globally: Foods that are responsible for important food safety problems are also crucial to ensure food security in some regions and are essential sources of nutrition. Moreover, together with calls for action to meeting international sustainable development goals, global efforts to promote food security and healthy diets have now highlighted the need to modify food systems globally. This article therefore explores the food safety dimensions of transitions toward food systems that promote sustainable healthy diets. The current body of evidence points to the combined health and environmental benefits of shifting toward a more plant-based diet, including vegetables and fruits, nuts, pulses, and whole grains. As a shift toward more plant-based diets may also lead to higher exposures to chemicals or pathogens present in these foods, an evaluation of food safety implications of such transitions is now imperative. We conclude that several synergies between public health, environmental, and food safety strategies can be identified to support dietary transitions.

Optimization of Sampling for Monitoring Chemicals in the Food Supply Chain Using a Risk-Based Approach: The Case of Aflatoxins and Dioxins in the Dutch Dairy Chain

Food safety monitoring faces the challenge of tackling multiple chemicals along the various stages of the food supply chain. Our study developed a methodology for optimizing sampling for monitoring multiple chemicals along the dairy supply chain. We used a mixed integer nonlinear programming approach to maximize the performance of the sampling in terms of reducing the risk of the potential disability adjusted life years (DALYs) in the population. Decision variables are the number of samples collected and analyzed at each stage of the food chain (feed mills, dairy farms, milk trucks, and dairy processing plants) for each chemical, given a predefined budget. The model was applied to the case of monitoring for aflatoxin B₁ /M₁ (AFB₁ /M₁ ) and dioxins in a hypothetical Dutch dairy supply chain, and results were calculated for various contamination scenarios defined in terms of contamination fraction and concentrations. Considering various monitoring budgets for both chemicals, monitoring for AFB₁ /M₁ showed to be more effective than for dioxins in most of the considered scenarios, because AFB₁ /M₁ could result into more DALYs than dioxins when both chemicals are in same contamination fraction, and costs for analyzing one AFB₁ /M₁ sample are lower than for one dioxins sample. The results suggest that relatively more resources be spent on monitoring AFB₁ /M₁ when both chemicals' contamination fractions are low; when both contamination fractions are higher, relatively more budget should be addressed to monitoring dioxins.

Evaluation of Multicriteria Decision Analysis Algorithms in Food Safety: A Case Study on Emerging Zoonoses Prioritization

Decision making in food safety is a complex process that involves several criteria of different nature like the expected reduction in the number of illnesses, the potential economic or health-related cost, or even the environmental impact of a given policy or intervention. Several multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) algorithms are currently used, mostly individually, in food safety to rank different options in a multifactorial environment. However, the selection of the MCDA algorithm is a decision problem on its own because different methods calculate different rankings. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of different uncertainty sources on the rankings of MCDA problems in the context of food safety. For that purpose, a previously published data set on emerging zoonoses in the Netherlands was used to compare different MCDA algorithms: MMOORA, TOPSIS, VIKOR, WASPAS, and ELECTRE III. The rankings were calculated with and without considering uncertainty (using fuzzy sets), to assess the importance of this factor. The rankings obtained differed between algorithms, emphasizing that the selection of the MCDA method had a relevant impact in the rankings. Furthermore, considering uncertainty in the ranking had a high influence on the results. Both factors were more relevant than the weights associated with each criterion in this case study. A hierarchical clustering method was suggested to aggregate results obtained by the different algorithms. This complementary step seems to be a promising way to decrease extreme difference among algorithms and could provide a strong added value in the decision-making process.