Risk Assessment for Clostridium perfringens in Ready-to-Eat and Partially Cooked Meat and Poultry Products

An assessment of the risk of illness associated with Clostridium perfringens in ready-to-eat and partially cooked meat and poultry products was completed to estimate the effect on the annual frequency of illnesses of changing the allowed maximal 1-log growth of C. perfringens during stabilization (cooling after the manufacturing heat step). The exposure assessment modeled stabilization, storage, and consumer preparation such as reheating and hot-holding. The model predicted that assuming a 10- or 100-fold increase from the assumed 1-log (maximal allowable) growth of C. perfringens results in a 1.2- or 1.6-fold increase of C. perfringens-caused illnesses, respectively, at the median of the uncertainty distribution. Improper retail and consumer refrigeration accounted for approximately 90% of the 79,000 C. perfringens illnesses predicted by the model at 1-log growth during stabilization. Improper hot-holding accounted for 8% of predicted illnesses, although model limitations imply that this is an underestimate. Stabilization accounted for less than 1% of illnesses. Efforts to reduce illnesses from C. perfringens in ready-to-eat and partially cooked meat and poultry products should focus on retail and consumer storage and preparation methods.