# Modernization Data Analysis and Visualization for Food Safety Research Outcomes
## 4 Type of Food Safety Experiments
### Bio-Mapping of Processing Facilities and Process Monitoring  
Bio-mapping or process mapping refers to the practice of sampling at specific points in processing, which allows for an assessment of contamination levels. For instance, in poultry processing this is conducted by measuring the microbiological status of birds using a specific target organism or a class or organisms [83]. Similarly, bio-mapping can also be applied in the beef and pork industries. Bio-mapping can also be seen as a process of monitoring antimicrobial interventions, which can help processors meet performance standards while simultaneously improving the overall microbial quality of products through better process control [83; 84]. Bio-mapping consists of collecting samples for one or more indicator bacteria and pathogens of interest at one or several points in the process. One of the major advantages of bio-mapping is that it allows facilities to use the collected data to compare pathogen levels on incoming and final product, which serves to determine if the process achieved the desired or intended levels of reduction of microbial loads. Figure 3: Different graphical representation and statistical analysis approaches to evaluate intervention studies. (**A**) Microbial counts (Log CFU/mL) before and after the use of two different antimicrobials (Antimicrobial 1 and Antimicrobial 2), (\(n=30\) observations per antimicrobial). In each boxplot, the horizontal line crossing the box represents the median, the bottom and top box are the lower and upper quartiles, the vertical top line represents 1.5 times the interquartile range, and the vertical bottom line represents 1.5 times the lower interquartile range. Boxes with different letters are significantly different according to ANOVA followed by pairwise comparison test adjusted with [PERSON]’s test at \(p<0.05\). The dots represent the actual data points. (**B**) Microbial counts (Log CFU/mL) before and after the use of two different antimicrobials (Antimicrobial 1 and Antimicrobial 2), (\(n=30\) observations per antimicrobial). The bar chart represents the mean counts before and after each antimicrobial intervention, and the error bars represent \(\pm\) 3 SE. Different letters are significantly different according to \(t\)-test at \(p<0.05\). Typically, when the process is performing adequately, bio-mapping results of indicator organisms provide a baseline level of the specific operation, which can be used to make adjustments in situations in which monitoring information indicates deviations from the \"usual\" performance. Furthermore, in cases when indicator data are used as a measure of pathogen control, then indicator results from bio-mapping are beneficial for food safety management decisions. Although a few process mapping studies have been conducted in the past [85; 86], there has been a recent increased interest in bio-mapping due to regulatory changes, new _Salmonella_ quantification methodologies, intervention assessment, and risk-based decision making, resulting in poultry [47; 87], beef [56; 62; 88; 89], pork [46], and leafy green [50] bio-mapping studies. As evaluated in the study by [PERSON] et al. [47], poultry bio-mapping baselines paired with pathogen quantification serve as a basis for the development of statistical process control parameters for food safety management. Bio-mapping data can enhance statistics-based process control from farm to fork [84]. One of the major takeaways of bio-mapping studies is identifying where food safety risk is the greatest on the processing line. Microbial \"hot spots\" in the process can more easily be identified with bio-maps. In addition, bio-mapping helps optimize the process for improved microbial control, enables better resource utilization, and facilitates the implementation of newer technologies into the process. The experimental design of a bio-map is dependent on obtaining a microbial baseline of the overall process over time.