Computer Modeling and Simulation of Ground Beef and Lettuce Handling for Hamburgers at a Typical Fast-food Restaurant

Download or read book Computer Modeling and Simulation of Ground Beef and Lettuce Handling for Hamburgers at a Typical Fast-food Restaurant written by and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a well-known foodborne pathogen associated with ground beef patties and produce. Numerous Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreaks have been associated with fast food restaurants. This research created a computer model and simulation with the Micrografx computer software program Process for the safe handling of ground beef patties and lettuce in a typical fast food restaurant. A reference facility was visited to obtain a text description of the flow of hamburger patties and lettuce through the facility. To create the model, a process diagram was made. The diagram graphically represented the series of steps that were taken from the arrival of the fresh products to the delivery of the cooked and assembled product to the consumer. A process model was created when the steps or activities in the process diagram was assigned behaviors. The final phase was process simulation. The simulation results indicated the model was representative of a typical fast-food restaurant, except for a single resource bottleneck. The model was then used successfully to simulate two potential breakdowns of the food safety system that could lead to a foodborne illness outbreak.