ArtisaneR: An online generic process risk model for sausage-making

Artisanal fermented foods may pose health risks to consumers, as they are often produced with variable, mostly non-standardised productive processes and are generally consumed without any cooking. Within this context, the objective of this study was to develop a freely available online generic process risk model (PRM) for sausage-making (ArtisaneR) to estimate the prevalence and concentration of Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes along the sausage-making processing stages, considering the application of natural extracts and/or starter cultures as bio-intervention strategies.

The PRM was programmed in R shiny and required input data on the process variables, the probability and level of contamination in the main ingredients and casings, the probability of cross-contamination, the kinetic parameters of the pathogens under study, and the effect of bio-preservative(s) on the numbers of the pathogens. The PRM consists of six functions validated with actual data: (1) the generation of contaminated lots, whose contamination levels are dictated by the levels in the meat, fat and spices, and the recipe; (2) stuffing, which simulates potential cross-contamination of the batter from the casings; (3) bio-intervention, which models the level of microbial reduction due to the addition of extracts or starter cultures; (4) maceration, which models the microbial growth during maceration or early fermentation; (5) maturation, which optionally simulates the death of the pathogens based on a pH-driven dynamic model; and (6) packaging, which groups the sausages into packages of finished products. The ArtisaneR shiny model displays summary statistics and distributions at both the lot level and the individual level (sausage/package), with each of the five panels corresponding to a processing stage, and its results were validated for Portuguese alheira sausage, Spanish salchichón, and Moroccan merguez sausage.

The tool can be employed by artisanal producers to evaluate the lethality of their current manufacturing processes and assess the effectiveness of their control measures. ArtisaneR is freely available at https://pif.esa.ipb.pt/shiny/artisanefood/prmodels/sausage.