The quantitative exposure assessment of Listeria monocytogenes in fresh edible mushrooms in Guizhou Province

ObjectiveTo conduct a preliminary quantitative exposure assessment of Listeria monocytogenes in fresh edible mushrooms from Guizhou province.MethodsMicrobial and its pathogenic factor monitoring results from the 2021—2022 food safety risk monitoring project were taken for analysis. The Baranyi model， combined with the Belehradek model， was selected， and @RISK software was applied to simulate the growth of L. monocytogenes at all stages from sales to consumption.ResultsThe final contamination level of L. monocytogenes in fresh edible mushrooms from Guizhou province was 1.10 CFU/g. The final contamination level was closely corelated with initial contamination level， transportation temperature and time. The initial contamination level had the strongest correlation with the final contamination level， with a correlation coefficient of 0.96.ConclusionAt present， there is a certain level of L. monocytogenes contamination in fresh edible mushrooms in Guizhou province， and there is a certain exposure risk. It is recommended to strengthen the supervision of fresh edible mushrooms sales and related publicity and education. A comprehensive risk assessment should be conducted as a next step to recognize the potential risk of fresh edible mushrooms in causing listeriosis.