Food Flows to Assess Community Exposure to Escherichia Coli O157:H7 in Romaine Lettuce Pubblico
Burke, Thomas (Summer 2020)
Abstract
In 2018, there were two E coli O157:H7 nationwide outbreaks tied to romaine lettuce consumption with product originating from Yuma, Arizona and the Salinas, CA growing regions.1, 2 Principles in “First in, First out” (FIFO) and other industry practices to maximize sellable product may create conditions in which some consumers have more risk of consuming romaine subject to temperature abuse and/or subject to other food safety risks. Proximity to food distribution centers may affect quality and potential safety given transit time to the ultimate retail destination. This ecological study utilizes a Poisson regression to evaluate the hypothesis that proximity to primary distribution node (DN) (i.e. the immediate first destination of product originating from Yuma County, Arizona) influences case counts at the county level. The model utilizes the Food Flows dataset created by Lin et al to find primary distribution nodes and calculated proximity distances through Python. Average county temperatures in March 2018 were also included to account for its influence on cold chain integrity. Other covariates evaluated were age proportions for persons under 15 and over 60, which are ages of special vulnerability to illness from E coli O157:H7. The final model includes average March temperature, the exposure of interest, and an effect modifier of temperature on DN proximity. We find a relation between DN proximity and case counts in the Yuma outbreak, with a risk ratio of 5.86 (95% CI 3.08, 11.2) for an increase of 250 kilometers, while holding temperature constant. Overall, increased distance from a DN portends increased risk for cases in the Yuma outbreak. Higher temperatures were also associated with an increase in risk. Because of the inability to include potential confounders, ecological bias is a primary concern to the interpretation of the results. Further exploration using Bayesian methods for mapping supply chain risk may better account for inter county variations in underlying covariates. Public health entities should consider attaching supply chain characteristics as a component of data collection in epidemiologic analyses to improve evaluation of future food safety outbreaks.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction and Concept
Hypothesis
Background
Public Health Consequences
Description of Supply Chains
Population at Risk
Model Justification
Methodology
Data Source Description
Population
Food Flows Description and Primary Distribution Node Proximity
Temperature Data
Model Analysis
Proposed Model
Analysis of Exposure
Analysis of Covariates
Analysis of Case Count Data
Model Building
Analysis Conclusion
Discussion
Acknowledgements
References
Appendix 1: SAS Code
Appendix 2: Python Data Cleaning Code
Appendix 3: Data Dictionary
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