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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Nov 2.
Published in final edited form as: Int J Food Microbiol. 2021 Aug 20;357:109365. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2021.109365

Table 1.

Parameters, values, and probability distributions used in the QMRA models.

Variable Notation Definition [units] Distribution and/or Values References

Inputs associated with norovirus viral load and contamination of hands by fecal matter
conc/concp Concentration of norovirus in stool – harvester and packer [virions/gram] 10BetaPert (2,6,11); min: 100, mode: 1,000,000, max: 100,000,000,000 (shape = 10) (Atmar et al., 2014; Kirby et al., 2014; Mokhtari and Jaykus, 2009)
mfh/mfhp Mass of feces/hand—harvester and packer [grams/hand] Generalized beta: shape1: 4.57, shape2: 2.55, min: −8.00, max: −1.00 (Bouwknegt et al., 2015)
Inputs associated with farmworker health and hygiene behavior (handwashing compliance and efficacy, glove use)
hweff/hweffp Handwashing removal efficacy— harvester and packer [log10 virions] Triangle (0.0, 0.5, 6) (Doultree et al., 1999; Duizer et al., 2004; Grove et al., 2015; Kampf et al., 2005; Kramer et al., 2006; Lages et al., 2008; Liu et al., 2010; Macinga et al., 2008; Mokhtari and Jaykus, 2009; Sattar, 2002; Tuladhar, 2015)
Phhw/Pphw Probability of handwashing— harvester and packer [%] Empirical (0.27,0.73) (Green et al., 2006)
Phwg/Ppwg Probability of using gloves— harvester and packer [%] Empirical (0.25,0.75) (Emery, 1990; FDA, 2000; Green et al., 2006; Michaels and Ayers, 2002; Michaels et al., 2004; Mokhtari and Jaykus, 2009)
prev Community-based asymptomatic norovirus prevalence among adults — harvester and packer [%] Empirical (0.04,0.96) (Qi et al., 2018)
Inputs associated with tactile contacts during harvesting and packing
Trhhp/Trphp Proportion of norovirus transfer per touch from bare hands to produce— harvester and packer:
Lettuce Uniform (0.123, 0.237) (Bidawid et al., 2004)
Tomato Log Normal: mean log: −2.22, SD log: −0.17 (Tuladhar et al., 2013)
Raspberry Log Normal: mean log: −2.32, SD log: −0.15 (Bouwknegt et al., 2015)
Trhgp/Trpgp Proportion of norovirus transfer per touch from gloved hands to produce— harvester and packer Beta, shape 1: 1.165, shape 2: 2.630 (Barker et al., 2004; Bidawid et al., 2004; Mokhtari and Jaykus, 2009)
Trpph Proportion of norovirus transfer per touch from produce to bare hands— packer only: (Bidawid et al., 2004; Bouwknegt et al., 2015; Verhaelen et al., 2013)
Lettuce Uniform (0.105, 0.175)
Tomato Uniform (0.105, 0.175)
Raspberry Beta, shape 1: 7.42, shape 2: 39.51
Trhpbi Proportion of norovirus transfer per touch from produce to bin Triangle (0.009,0.028, 0.038) (D’Souza et al., 2006; Escudero et al., 2012; Stals, 2013; Stals et al., 2015)
Trppbe Proportion of norovirus transfer per touch from packing produce to belt Triangle (0.009,0.028, 0.038) (D’Souza et al., 2006; Escudero et al., 2012; Stals, 2013; Stals et al., 2015)
Trhhg/Trphg Proportion of norovirus transfer per touch from contaminated bare hand /restroom environment to glove— harvester and packer Uniform (0,0.444) (Ronnqvist et al., 2014)
Trhppbi Proportion of produce to produce norovirus transfer per contact in harvest bin Beta, shape 1: 2.257, shape 2: 15.502 (Barker et al., 2004; Bidawid et al., 2004; Mokhtari and Jaykus, 2009)
nhPh/npPh Number of hand-to-produce contacts—harvester and packer Empirical (1), p(1) Assumption
nPbi Number of produce-bin contacts Empirical (1–5), p(0.2,0.2,0.2,0.2,0.2) Assumption
nPbe Number of produce-belt contacts Empirical (1–5), p(0.2,0.2,0.2,0.2,0.2) Assumption
nPPbi Number of produce-to-produce contacts in bin Empirical (1–10), p(0.1, 0.1, 0.1, 0.1, 0.1, 0.1, 0.1, 0.1, 0.1, 0.1) Assumption
norodecay Norovirus log10 reduction per day at: Lettuce: 5°C
Tomato, raspberry: 20°C
Point (0.011)
Point (0.151)
(Bouwknegt et al., 2015)
Inputs associated with dose-response, exposure assessment, and risk characterization for the consumer
μ Mean aggregate size Triangle (399, 1106, 2428) (Messner et al., 2014)
P Dose-response: probability of infection among susceptible subjects Triangle (0.63, 0.722, 0.8) (Messner et al., 2014)
bodyweight Adult body weight [kilograms] Point (80) (EPA, 2011)
weightlettucehead Reported weight per single raw lettuce head (representing red leaf, green leaf, and romaine lettuces) [grams] Triangle (309, 360, 626) (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 2019)
weighttomato Reported weight per single tomato [grams] Triangle (91, 123, 182) (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 2019)
weightberry Reported weight per single raspberry [grams] Triangle (3, 4, 5) (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 2019)
lettuceconsumpt Consumer-Only 2-Day average intake of lettuce, whole population [g/kg-day] Normal 0.44, SD: 0.01 (EPA., 2018)
tomatoconsumpt Consumer-Only 2-Day average intake of tomatoes, whole population [g/kg-day] Normal 0.83, SD: 0.02 (EPA., 2018)
berryconsumpt Consumer-Only 2-Day average intake of berries, whole population [g/kg-day] Normal 0.45, SD: 0.02 (EPA., 2018)