Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, 2650 N. Young Ave, Fayetteville, AR 72704, USA.
Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, 2372 Kildee Hall, Ames, Iowa, USA.
J Food Prot. 2023 Jan;86(1):100018. doi: 10.1016/j.jfp.2022.11.010. Epub 2022 Dec 30.
Large, renowned outbreaks associated with low-moisture foods (LMFs) bring to light some of the potential, inherent risks that accompany foods with long shelf lives if pathogen contamination occurs. Subsequently, in 2013, Beuchat et al. (2013) noted the increased concern regarding these foods, specifically noting examples of persistence and resistance of pathogens in low-water activity foods (LWAFs), prevalence of pathogens in LWAF processing environments, and sources of and preventive measures for contamination of LWAFs. For the last decade, the body of knowledge related to LMF safety has exponentially expanded. This growing field and interest in LMF safety have led researchers to delve into survival and persistence studies, revealing that some foodborne pathogens can survive in LWAFs for months to years. Research has also uncovered many complications of working with foodborne pathogens in desiccated states, such as inoculation methods and molecular mechanisms that can impact pathogen survival and persistence. Moreover, outbreaks, recalls, and developments in LMF safety research have created a cascading feedback loop of pushing the field forward, which has also led to increased attention on how industry can improve LMF safety and raise safety standards. Scientists across academia, government agencies, and industry have partnered to develop and evaluate innovate thermal and nonthermal technologies to use on LMFs, which are described in the presented review. The objective of this review was to describe aspects of the extensive progress made by researchers and industry members in LMF safety, including lessons-learned about outbreaks and recalls, expansion of knowledge base about pathogens that contaminate LMFs, and mitigation strategies currently employed or in development to reduce food safety risks associated with LMFs.
大型知名的与低水分食品（LMF）相关的暴发事件凸显了如果发生病原体污染，这些具有长保质期的食品所伴随的一些潜在固有风险。随后，在 2013 年，Beuchat 等人（2013 年）注意到人们对这些食品的担忧增加，特别指出了病原体在低水分活度食品（LWAF）中持续存在和耐药的例子、病原体在 LWAF 加工环境中的流行情况、以及 LWAF 污染的来源和预防措施。在过去的十年中，与 LMF 安全相关的知识体系呈指数级增长。这一不断发展的领域和对 LMF 安全的兴趣促使研究人员深入研究生存和持久性研究，揭示了一些食源性病原体可以在 LWAF 中存活数月至数年。研究还发现了在干燥状态下处理食源性病原体的许多并发症，例如接种方法和可能影响病原体生存和持久性的分子机制。此外，与 LMF 安全相关的暴发、召回事件和研究进展形成了一个推动该领域前进的级联反馈循环，这也导致人们更加关注行业如何提高 LMF 安全性并提高安全标准。学术界、政府机构和工业界的科学家们已经合作开发和评估创新的热和非热技术，用于 LMF，这些技术在本综述中进行了描述。本综述的目的是描述研究人员和行业成员在 LMF 安全方面取得的广泛进展的各个方面，包括与暴发和召回事件相关的经验教训、对污染 LMF 的病原体的知识库的扩展，以及目前正在采用或正在开发的减轻策略，以降低与 LMF 相关的食品安全风险。
