Food Safety Risk Analysis Research Articles

Biological Hazards and Indicators Found in Products of Animal Origin in Cambodia from 2000 to 2022: A Systematic Review

Biological hazards in products of animal origin pose a significant threat to human health. In Cambodia, there are few comprehensive data and information on the causes of foodborne diseases or risks. To date, there has been no known published study similar to this review. This systematic review is aimed to investigate the prevalence of biological hazards and their indicators in products of animal origin from 2000 to 2022. The main objective of this study was also to contribute to strengthening Cambodia’s food control system. This review followed the established “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses” (PRISMA) guidelines. In total, 46 studies were retained for complete review. Most studies (n = 40) had been conducted by or with external researchers, reflecting the under-resourcing of the National Food Control System in terms of surveillance; areas outside the capital were relatively understudied, reflecting evidence found in Ethiopia and Burkina Faso. Five categories of hazards were reported with the highest number of studies on fish parasites. Marketed fish, often originating from different countries, had a higher mean value of parasite prevalence (58.85%) than wild-caught fish (16.46%). Viral pathogens in bat meat presented a potential spillover risk. Many potentially important hazards had not yet been studied or reported (e.g., Norovirus, Shigella, toxin-producing Escherichia coli, and Vibrio cholerae). The findings of our review highlighted significant urgencies for national competent authorities to enhance food hygiene practices along the production chain, tackle import control, and enforce the implementation of a traceability system, alongside more research collaboration with neighboring countries and key trading partners. It is crucial to conduct more extensive research on food safety risk analysis, focusing on the identification and understanding of various biological hazards and their associated risk factors in food.

Integration of National Chemical Hazards Monitoring, Total Diet Study, and Human Biomonitoring Programmes for Food Safety Exposure Assessment in Singapore

Food safety and food security can impact the quality of human life, and these two aspects are interrelated alongside many influencing external factors. Global stressors such as climate change, recent pandemic, and geopolitical tensions have demonstrated tangible impacts on food security and safety. Food and food system innovation is a key strategy towards feeding the world in a more sustainable and climate-resilient manner. This paper highlights the use of a science-based risk assessment and management in Singapore’s food safety system, specifically in the integration of exposure assessment approaches to support evidence-based food safety risk analysis and decision-making. The use of complementary top-down and bottom-up exposure assessment approaches through the market monitoring programme, total diet study and human biomonitoring forms a comprehensive integrated exposure assessment strategy which can ultimately inform policy and measures in ensuring and securing a supply of safe food. The discussion on such application for chemical food safety in Singapore offers additional insights into the synergistic inter-relationships contributing to the exposure assessment associated with chemicals in food.

Blockchain technology design based on food safety and halal risk analysis in the beef supply chain with FMEA-FTA

Beef has an important role in the health of the body. Food safety and halal are the main factors for consumers in purchasing beef. However, in reality, several activities in the beef supply chain result in status changes to be unsafe and not halal for consumption. This occurs due to weak food safety and halal supervision in the beef supply chain system. Therefore, this study proposes the use of blockchain technology to strengthen the food safety and halal supervision system in the beef supply chain. The objectives of this study are (1) to identify food safety and halal risk factors, and (2) to develop a blockchain technology design for mitigating food safety and halal risks in the beef supply chain. This research uses the FMEA method to measure risks and FTA for risk analysis. The results showed that 30 risks were identified in the beef supply chain. The highest risk is the absence of a halal certificate on the product. The 30 risks are grouped into 4 risks that are included in extreme priority risk, 11 risks in high priority risk, 4 risks in moderate risk, and 11 risks as acceptable risk. Based on these results, the role of blockchain technology to minimize risk is in the flow of data, and transactions will be easier to track, more transparent, and safer to use as part of the control and supervision system for food safety and halal standards in the beef supply chain. This research has implications for transparency in the supply chain, the accuracy of product track records, prevention of food poisoning, improving halal compliance, risk management and thus increasing consumer confidence.

Spatial variation of agricultural land in Turkey using CORINE data

Detection of the exchange and distribution of agricultural lands allows many projects and plans to be made and interpreted correctly, such as food safety, planning, and environmental risk analysis. From this point of study in the spatial changes and distribution of agricultural land in time across Turkey were examined. CORINE Land Cover (CLC) data was used to identify agricultural land and examine changes over time. As a result of the study, it was observed that agricultural lands increased slightly from 1990 to 2018, but this increase has not always been in the form of preserving existing agricultural lands and adding existing agricultural lands. While some areas have lost their agricultural land characteristics, some areas have become agricultural land. New agricultural areas are usually realized by the transformation of forests and semi-natural areas while the agricultural areas that disappear are provided from heterogeneous agricultural areas. The Central Anatolia region stands out in the distribution of agricultural areas by region. The region with the highest concentration of agricultural land in terms of both proportion and area is the Central Anatolia region. Also, the Central Anatolia region is the region with the most intensive Non-irrigated agriculture. The area where irrigated agriculture is proportionally most made is the southeast Anatolia region. According to province-based, the provinces with more than 40% of the provincial surface area are Kırıkkale, Kırşehir, Nevşehir, Aksaray in the Central Anatolia region, Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa in the Southeastern Anatolia region, Edirne and Tekirdağ in the Marmara region. The provinces of Artvin, Tunceli, Bingöl, and Hakkari are the provinces where the percentage of agricultural land is below 10%.

Food Safety Risk Analysis in East African Community: A Cornerstone for an Effective Regional Risk-Based Food Safety System

Food risk analysis remains a major cornerstone that provides a framework for the risk-based food safety system. This paper aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the food safety system, and the foundational role and opportunities of the risk analysis concept in the East Africa Community (EAC). The study was done through the explorative review of the literature as the best approach to getting broad information on the concept of risk analysis in global food safety and its impact on food safety systems. Through analysis of the relevant literature and previous studies related to global food safety and food safety systems, the approach helped to draw on challenges and opportunities and to reformulate the potential key role of the risk analysis concept in the EAC food safety system. Challenges were identified through the evaluation of the effectiveness of the EAC food safety system with reference to the US- effective food safety model. The role and opportunities of the risk analysis in the EAC food safety system were evaluated against identified challenges, and its implementation feasibility and assets in the EAC food safety system. As results, the EAC food safety system showed many gaps and challenges, and was ineffective. While the risk analysis concept was found a key factor in attributes of the effective food safety system, it could help the EAC food safety system to become effective, and to respond to the current and future food safety needs of both the African continent and the Globe. With many opportunities and potentials in EAC, the risk analysis concept can be integrated into the EAC food safety system. Therefore, a useful and strategic approach as a model of the integration of the risk analysis concept was designed for EAC. It is the establishment of an EAC- Regional Centre of Expertise in Food Risk Analysis (EAC-CREFRA). In addition, the EAC food safety system needs to anchor One Health and multi-factorial food safety management approaches to food safety.

An ensemble of AHP-EW and AE-RNN for food safety risk early warning.

Food safety problems are becoming increasingly severe in modern society, and establishing an accurate food safety risk warning and analysis model is of positive significance in avoiding food safety accidents. We propose an algorithmic framework that integrates the analytic hierarchy process based on the entropy weight (AHP-EW) and the autoencoder-recurrent neural network (AE-RNN). Specifically, the AHP-EW method is first used to obtain the weight percentages of each detection index. The comprehensive risk value of the product samples is obtained by weighted summation with the detection data, which is used as the expected output of the AE-RNN network. The AE-RNN network is constructed to predict the comprehensive risk value of unknown products. The detailed risk analysis and control measures are taken based on the risk value. We applied this method to the detection data of a dairy product brand in China for example validation. Compared with the performance of 3 models of the back propagation algorithm (BP), the long short-term memory network (LSTM), and the LSTM based on the attention mechanism (LSTM-Attention), the AE-RNN model has a shorter convergence time, predicts data more accurately. The root mean square error (RMSE) of experimental data is only 0.0018, proving that the model is feasible in practice and helps improve the food safety supervision system in China to avoid food safety incidents.

The Role and Application of Food Safety Risk Analysis in Food Quality Management

The Role and Application of Food Safety Risk Analysis in Food Quality Management

The Risk Analysis Model Design of the Emergency-Food Supply under Blizzard Conditions

This work aims to improve the risk analysis system of the preparation and the transportation of emergency food and to improve the safety, efficiency, and speed of the emergency-food supply in China. We combined the fuzzy analysis and the convolutional neural network to identify the main risk factors of the emergency-food supply. The identification of the risk factors by the fuzzy analysis improved the food-safety risk analysis system. On the other hand, the use of the convolutional neural network to determine the early-warning threshold and to optimize the transportation plan of emergency food effectively improved the safety, efficiency, and speed of the emergency-food supply.

Investments in Food Safety Risk Assessment and Risk Analysis as a Requirement for Robust Food Control Systems: Calling for Regional Centres of Expertise

Risk Assessment is the scientifically-based process that characterizes the possible human health implications of hazards found in food. This scientific approach is part of the risk analysis paradigm that governs the food decision-making process. It is a prerequisite for the development and execution of robust and consistent food safety regulatory decisions. This paper reviews food regulatory decision-making scenarios where risk assessment plays a key role. It discusses challenges associated with the access to capacity and competencies from various disciplines necessary to enable risk assessment and overall risk analysis. The paper illustrates the urgent need for the provision of additional support to capacity building initiatives in this area by means of mutually beneficial resource-sharing with the objective to establish regional and/or sub-regional centres of food regulatory science, including expertise in risk assessment. Regional Centres of Expertise may be the answer to provide the needed competencies and up-to-date tools to operationalize food regulatory systems, where food risk analysis is the foundation of decision-making, as advocated by the guidance of the Codex Alimentarius commission. It may also be the response to support economic regional integration, where food and agrifood trade needs to be supported by the removal of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) constraints and through achieving a more coordinated and harmonious food safety standard setting framework, at the regional level.

Food safety risk analysis from the producers' perspective: prioritisation of production process stages by HACCP and TOPSIS

From the manufacturers perspective, the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) system nowadays represents the mainly way to implement the food safety risk management in food industries. Nevertheless, the identification and prioritisation of hazards as the outcome of the first principle of HACCP is not sufficient to identify production process stages that more significantly and critically contribute to the consumer's risks. With this recognition, the present paper proposes a quantitative risk assessment (QRA) approach based on HACCP and technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) to individuate production process phases on which implementing corrective actions to improve the consumers' safety. The designed methodological approach is implemented on the smoked salmon manufacturing process of a real Sicilian industry.

Food safety risk analysis from the producers

Food safety risk analysis from the producers

Next steps to evidence-based food safety risk analysis: opportunities for health technology assessment methodology implementation

Food safety risk analysis and health technology assessment (HTA) are two different paradigms sharing multiple common features. Decision makers in both fields have the responsibility to promote the health of society deciding on intervention opportunities based on disease burden, intervention feasibility, effectiveness and cost, equity and ethical considerations. The evolution of HTA in the last two decades has resulted in the establishment and widespread use of quantitative tools to support and justify evidence-based decisions. In contrast, decision making in the food safety domain is still a qualitative process rendering ad hoc weights to all aspects considered. This review evaluates whether HTA methodology is suitable for quantitative decision support in food safety risk analysis. We conclude that cost-utility analysis (CUA) could better serve the priority settings in food safety risk management than the currently (rarely) applied cost-benefit analysis (CBA), considering either broad resource allocation or specific safety measure decisions. Development of multi-criteria decision analysis tools could help the introduction of consistent and explicit weighting among cost and health impacts, equity and all other relevant aspects. Cost-minimisation and cost-effectiveness analyses would be relevant for ‘threshold’ and ‘as low as reasonably achievable’ approaches to single food safety risk assessments, respectively. Assuming a future widespread use of HTA methodology in the food safety paradigm, a vision of integrated healthcare, food safety and nutritional policy emerges, with the re-evaluation of budgets and resources of these large systems in a rational and socially acceptable way.

Next steps to evidence-based food safety risk analysis: opportunities for health technology assessment methodology implementation

Food safety risk analysis and health technology assessment (HTA) are two different paradigms sharing multiple common features. Decision makers in both fields have the responsibility to promote the health of society deciding on intervention opportunities based on disease burden, intervention feasibility, effectiveness and cost, equity and ethical considerations. The evolution of HTA in the last two decades has resulted in the establishment and widespread use of quantitative tools to support and justify evidence-based decisions. In contrast, decision making in the food safety domain is still a qualitative process rendering ad hoc weights to all aspects considered. This review evaluates whether HTA methodology is suitable for quantitative decision support in food safety risk analysis. We conclude that cost-utility analysis (CUA) could better serve the priority settings in food safety risk management than the currently (rarely) applied cost-benefit analysis (CBA), considering either broad resource allocation or specific safety measure decisions. Development of multi-criteria decision analysis tools could help the introduction of consistent and explicit weighting among cost and health impacts, equity and all other relevant aspects. Cost-minimisation and cost-effectiveness analyses would be relevant for ‘threshold’ and ‘as low as reasonably achievable’ approaches to single food safety risk assessments, respectively. Assuming a future widespread use of HTA methodology in the food safety paradigm, a vision of integrated healthcare, food safety and nutritional policy emerges, with the re-evaluation of budgets and resources of these large systems in a rational and socially acceptable way.

Knowledge and Perceived Implementation of Food Safety Risk Analysis Framework in Latin America and the Caribbean Region

Risk analysis is increasingly promoted as a tool to support science-based decisions regarding food safety. An online survey comprising 45 questions was used to gather information on the implementation of food safety risk analysis within the Latin American and Caribbean regions. Professionals working in food safety in academia, government, and private sectors in Latin American and Caribbean countries were contacted by email and surveyed to assess their individual knowledge of risk analysis and perceptions of its implementation in the region. From a total of 279 participants, 97% reported a familiarity with risk analysis concepts; however, fewer than 25% were able to correctly identify its key principles. The reported implementation of risk analysis among the different professional sectors was relatively low (46%). Participants from industries in countries with a long history of trade with the United States and the European Union, such as Mexico, Brazil, and Chile, reported perceptions of a higher degree of risk analysis implementation (56, 50, and 20%, respectively) than those from the rest of the countries, suggesting that commerce may be a driver for achieving higher food safety standards. Disagreement among respondents on the extent of the use of risk analysis in national food safety regulations was common, illustrating a systematic lack of understanding of the current regulatory status of the country. The results of this survey can be used to target further risk analysis training on selected sectors and countries.

A national produce supply chain database for food safety risk analysis

During a foodborne crisis, risk assessors are often scrambling to assemble data needed to trace suspected foods along very complex supply chains. Although traceability systems ensure that stakeholders in the supply chain record lot-specific trace-back and trace-forward data, there are few databases available that describe in detail the flow of product in the complex web of supply chains. This paper presents the methodological approach used to design and assemble a relational database of nation-wide trade data for packaged ready-to-eat lettuce and leafy greens. The database was used in the development of an integrated simulation tool (Canadian GIS-based Risk Assessment, Simulation and Planning for food safety tool, i.e. CanGRASP) that can predict the spatial distribution and public health risk associated with contaminated food. The database includes the geographical coordinates of 5 domestic processors, 28 produce distribution centres and 2946 retail outlets from five of the top ten retail chains in Canada. It also includes other critical information to predict the fate of pathogens during distribution of contaminated product through the supply chain including: (a) product volumes handled by each stakeholder, (b) flow of product between stakeholders, (c) temperatures of product each season, and (d) times products spend in each step or during transit between steps, for each season. The database is used by both the simulation and mapping components of the integrated simulation tool during risk assessment exercises associated with emergency preparedness planning and training. Using the database, CanGRASP was able to assess the spread of the population at risk during a simulation of a hypothetical outbreak caused by fresh-cut leafy vegetables contaminated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 in the Canadian food distribution systems during both summer and winter seasons.

A Through-chain Analysis of Food Safety Hazards and Control Measures Associated with the Production and Supply of Seed Sprouts for Human Consumption

Background: Seed sprouts contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms, such as Salmonella spp. and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) present an unacceptable health risk to consumers. An outbreak that occurred in Australia during 2005 and 2006 due to the consumption of alfalfa sprouts contaminated with Salmonella Oranienburg resulted in 141 infected cases, and cost an estimated $1.19 million to the Australian community. In Japan in 1996, consumption of radish sprouts contaminated with STEC O157:H7 affected more than 10,000 individuals. The outbreak of E. coli O104:H4 linked to the consumption of fenugreek sprouts that occurred in Europe in 2011 was an unprecedented foodborne outbreak. More than 4,000 individuals were infected by STEC O104:H4. Among them, 908 developed haemorrhagic uraemic syndrome (HUS), and 50 died of STEC infection. This demonstrates the potential food safety risk arising from seed sprouts and that the consequences can be devastating. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) initiated the development of a primary production and processing standard for seed sprouts in 2009 to enhance the safety of seed sprouts produced and sold in Australia. After extensive consultations with the State and Territory food safety regulators, and a thorough investigation of the Australian Grey Literature European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety, 4(4): 424-428, 2014 425 industry practices in producing seed sprouts for human consumption, a technical paper was prepared to inform the design of potential risk mitigation measures for a national food safety standard on seed sprout production. This technical paper described the Australian seed sprout industry, depicted the steps involved in the production of seed sprouts for human consumption, and provided an analysis of potential food safety hazards that could occur during seed sprout production and processing. A food safety standard for the production and sale of seed sprouts in Australia was finalised in November 2011. This extended abstract describes the key aspects of the technical paper. Aims: To provide technical and scientific information to support risk management decisions aimed at maximizing the safety of seed sprouts produced for human consumption in Australia. Study Design: A through-chain qualitative food safety risk analysis. Place and Duration of Study: FSANZ, Canberra, Australia, between July 2009 and January 2010. Methodology: This through-chain risk analysis was prepared upon a comprehensive review of literature available at the time on: investigations of foodborne outbreaks associated with consumption of seed sprouts; surveys of microbial contamination of seed sprouts; specific publications on crop production, seed harvest, post-harvest processing and storage of seeds; production of seed sprouts; risk assessments on seed sprouts; and regulatory guidelines published by Australian and international food safety regulatory authorities on seed sprouts. Members of the FSANZ project team conducted field studies of sprout production, lucerne crop production, lucerne seed processing, wholesale and retail sale of seed sprouts. A survey was conducted on the variety, volume and value of sprouts produced, source and quantity of seeds used to produce sprouts for human consumption, trend of consumption of seed sprouts in Australia, as well as the size and the location of sprout producers in Australia. Stakeholders were consulted through a FSANZ standard development committee with participants from State and Territory food safety regulators, peak sprout producer industry bodies, seed producers and seed processors, major food retailers, and consumer representatives. The through-chain analysis of food safety hazards associated with the production and processing of seed sprouts was prepared in line with the principles of hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP).

Review of the Regulation of Veterinary Drugs and Residues in South Africa

The food safety risk analysis framework of the FAO/WHO is used in the review of veterinary drug and residue regulation in South Africa to determine possible inefficiencies within this system. Results indicate that a variety of challenges relating to the processes of risk assessment, management, and communication do exist, although these occur within a fragmented system of legislation, functions, and structures. Addressing these challenges therefore requires a change to a more collaborative and integrated system. It is indicated that for such a change, the underlying challenges of inadequate horizontal communication, poor conceptualization, and awareness of functions of the system are required to be dealt with.

The risk of chemicals in food including pesticide residue, in terms of food safety risk analysis

The risk of chemicals in food including pesticide residue, in terms of food safety risk analysis

The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) database in support of risk analysis of biogenic amines in food

In the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) database, an exchange information tool on risk measures related to food and feed controls, notifications concerning the presence of biogenic amines in food are mainly histamine in fish products. This reflects the current EU legislation which sets food safety criteria for histamine in certain fish products. Average histamine concentrations in about 300 notifications between 2002 and 2010 were below 200mg/kg fish product in 17%, between 200 and 500mg/kg in 36%, between 500 and 1000mg/kg in 16%, between 1000 and 2000mg/kg in 12% and above 2000mg/kg in 11% of notifications. A high variability of histamine concentrations in different samples originating from the same fish product of up to a factor of 500 was reported. RASFF introduced ‘Food poisoning’ as a reason for notification in 2008 and reported around 60 negatively affected consumers due to dietary histamine intake until the end of 2010. Based on the evolution and development of notifications in the RASFF database, it can be anticipated that these data will increasingly provide valuable ‘real-life’ and ‘up to date’ evidence to support food safety risk analysis in the future.

A Study on Food Safety Risk Analysis under the Condition of Traditional Agriculture

A Study on Food Safety Risk Analysis under the Condition of Traditional Agriculture