Recent Approaches in Risk Assessment of Foods

Abstract

Food safety is important not only for the people’s general health and daily life, economic development, and social stability but also for the government’s and country’s image. Microbiological and chemical contamination in food is a major cause of illnesses. Food-borne disease remains a real and formidable problem in both developed and developing countries, causing great human suffering and significant economic losses. New science-based approaches to food safety provide an effective way for governments to protect consumers against food-borne disease and plan appropriate response measures when necessary. Risk assessment is a structured science-based process to estimate the likelihood and severity of risk with attendant uncertainty. For risk assessment many organizations recognize four major elements: hazard identification; exposure assessment; dose–response assessment or hazard characterization; and risk characterization. Risk assessment can be descriptive or narrative, qualitative, semi-quantitative, or quantitative. Both qualitative and quantitative risk assessments are important in different circumstances. Food safety risk assessments are undertaken in response to identified chemical or microbial risks to human health. Chemical risk assessments focus on the presence of chemicals such as food additives, food contaminants, or residues of veterinary drugs. A microbial risk assessment evaluates the likelihood of adverse human health effects occurring after exposure to a pathogenic microorganism or to the medium in which the organism occurs. Activities within risk assessment focus on estimating the risk that a hazardous event or factor will negatively affect a population or subpopulation. This chapter deals with the food safety risk assessment process. It introduces a range of techniques that can be used to support risk assessment in practice and outlines the essential characteristics of a good risk assessment.