Abstract:

The purpose of this work was to quantify the cross-contamination of Aeromonas spp. from chilled pork to
Brassica chinensis through cutting boards, knives and hands in the kitchen. Transferring experiments were performed to
mimic the food preparation process of consumer under laboratory conditions. The pork sample was inoculated with A. spp.
before splitting to determine the transfer rate of Aeromonas spp. from chilled pork to cutting boards, knives and hands,
respectively. Meanwhile, transfer rates from cutting boards, knives and hands to B. chinensis under various food-handling
scenarios were also determined. Transfer rates were logarithmically transformed to fit distributions and take scenario 1(after
cutting pork, cutting boards, knives and hands were also used for cutting B. chinensis without any cleaning) as an example
to simulate cross-contamination. The results showed that each set of transfer rates varied significantly over experiments
(P ＜ 0.05), and transfer rates with logarithmic transformation proved to be approximately normally distributed. The analogue
simulation of cross-contamination showed the cross-contamination of foodborne pathogens from raw meats to ready-to-eat
foods suggesting some potential risks to consumers. Combined with cooking stage assessment and dose-response relationship,
these results could provide theoretical references for complete establishment of Aeromonas spp. risk assessment.

Key words: chilled pork, Brassica chinensis, Aeromonas spp., cross-contamination, transfer rate