Global sensitivity analysis applied to food safety risk assessment

Abstract

This study proposes an example of the implementation of the global sensitivity analysis developed by Saltelli in the frame of the contamination assessment of Listeria monocytogenes in smoked salmon at consumption. This method allowed identifying subsets of relevant parameters among the input variables of the model characterized by a great variability and/or uncertainty. This example illustrates the significance to perform these studies for food safety risk assessment models in order to identify the most influential parameters justifying management options, to identify parameters that need to be further studied, and to simplify models when complexity is not justified.