Predictive microbiology models are essential tools to model bacterial growth in quantitative microbial risk
assessments. Various predictive microbiology models and sets of parameters are available: it is of interest
to understand the consequences of the choice of the growth model on the risk assessment outputs. Thus, an
exercise was conducted to explore the impact of the use of several published models to predict Listeria
monocytogenes growth during food storage in a product that permits growth. Results underline a gap
between the most studied factors in predictive microbiology modeling (lag, growth rate) and the most
influential parameters on the estimated risk of listeriosis in this scenario (maximum population density,
bacterial competition). The mathematical properties of an exponential doseeresponse model for Listeria
accounts for the fact that the mean number of bacteria per serving and, as a consequence, the highest
achievable concentrations in the product under study, has a strong influence on the estimated expected
number of listeriosis cases in this context.