Q4MRATools: Quantitative tools to microbial risk assessment.

In the context of the European Food Risk Assessment (EU-FORA) fellowship programme, the project 'Q4MRATools: Quantitative Tools to Microbial Risk Assessment' focused on training in predictive microbiology, experimental design and the use of advanced software tools like R, MATLAB, @Risk, DMFit and GInaFiT. The primary objective of this programme was to equip the fellow with foundational knowledge in quantitative microbial risk assessments (QMRA), thereby contributing to the development of more effective and accurate food safety risk assessments. This initiative was part of a broader effort to address the evolving challenges in food safety by enhancing collaborative actions and developing robust food safety systems.

The role of temperature and carbon dioxide climatic stress factors on the growth kinetics of Escherichia coli.

Aims: The global level of carbon dioxide and temperature in the atmosphere is expected to increase, which may affect the survival of the stress-adapted bacteria. In this study, the effect of temperature and dissolved carbon dioxide on the growth rate of Escherichia coli-eGFP tagged strain was studied, thus assessing its response to induced environmental stress factors.

Methods And Results: A kinetic assay has been performed using a microplate reader with a spectrofluorometer to determine the specific growth rates.