Microbiological risk assessment - Guidance for food

Abstract

Risk assessment of microbiological hazards in foods, commonly referred to as Microbiological Risk Assessment (MRA), has previously been identified as one of the priority areas of work by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). Following the work of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH), CAC adopted Principles and Guidelines for the Conduct of Microbiological Risk Assessment (CXG-30) in 1999. In response to the needs of their member countries and Codex, FAO and WHO launched a programme of work in the early 2000’s with the objective of providing expert advice on risk assessment of microbiological hazards in foods, including technical guidance on microbiological risk assessment. Three technical guidance documents were published in the Microbiological Risk Assessment Series: Hazard characterization for Pathogens in food and water (2003), Exposure assessment of microbiological hazards in food (2008), and Risk characterization of microbiological hazards in food (2009a). Science has evolved over the last decade and there is a need to update and incorporate new developments in the principles and methods for risk assessment of microbiological hazards. To consolidate and update the existing technical guidance documents on microbiological risk assessment, FAO and WHO established a group of experts and convened the Expert Meetings in Rome, Italy on 11-15 March 2019. The discussion and conclusion in this meeting were taken into consideration in finalizing this report. In addition, the document was also subject to peer review and public consultation before finalization.