Abstract—This study evaluates the risk of Escherichia coli exposure in hospital food using the Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) and Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) approaches. The QMRA method was used to identify hazards, assess exposure levels, and characterize the risks associated with Escherichia coli. The results showed that of the 5 food samples tested, one sample, Gogos, was detected positive for Escherichia coli with a colony count of 1.2 × 103 colonies/g, exceeding the established quality standard limit. The highest daily Probability of infection (Pinf/day) was recorded in Gogos at 2.52 × 10−1, with an annual probability of infection reaching 1 (100%), indicating a high risk. The ISM serves to analyze the relationship between various risk factors that contribute to contamination. In this method, the sample consisted of 225 respondents, who were selected cross-sectionally from a total of 345 hospital staff, and it was found that key factors in contamination prevention include: hand washing, use of clean water, and checking expiration dates. These findings emphasize the importance of implementing strict hygiene practices in food management in Hospitals to reduce the risk of infection and improve food safety. This study is expected to provide valuable insights for decision makers in formulating better public health policies in the hospital environment.
Keywords—Escherichia coli, microbiological risks, food management, food contamination, prevention strategies
Cite: Patmawati, Anwar Daud, Anwar Mallongi, Agus Bintara Birawida, Saliza Mohd Elias, Yuyun Yuniar, and Muhammad Fahmi Aziz, "Risk Assessment of Escherichia coli Exposure in Food Using QMRA and ISM Approaches at Polewali Mandar Hospital," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 386-400, 2026.
Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).