Food Safety Risk Analysis Research Articles

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

Attribution of Human Listeria monocytogenes Infections in England and Wales to Ready-to-Eat Food Sources Placed on the Market: Adaptation of the Hald Salmonella Source Attribution Model

Human listeriosis is a rare but serious foodborne disease, with high morbidity and mortality in vulnerable populations (e.g., pregnant women, the elderly, and the immunocompromised). The disease is predominantly caused by the consumption of contaminated ready-to-eat foods. Since 2001, an increase in the number of listeriosis cases has been observed in several European Union countries, including England and Wales, predominantly in the over-60s population. The cause of this selective increased incidence is unknown. The Hald Salmonella Bayesian source attribution model was adapted to determine the potential of this approach to quantify the contribution of different food sources to the burden of human listeriosis in England and Wales from 2004 to 2007. The most important food sources for the overall population were multicomponent foods (sandwiches and prepacked mixed salad vegetables) (23.1%), finfish (16.8%), and beef (15.3%). Attribution of major sources of infection was similar for the elderly population (>or=60 years old, multicomponent foods [22.0%], finfish [14.7%], and beef [13.6%]). For pregnancy-associated cases, beef (12.3%), milk and milk products (11.8%), and finfish (11.2%) were more important sources of infection. The adapted model also showed that the serotype 4b was associated with relatively more human infections than that of other serotypes; further, the subtype 4b amplified fragment-length polymorphism V was associated with more pregnancy-associated cases than other subtypes of 4b. This approach of quantifying the contribution of various food sources to human listeriosis provides a useful tool in food safety risk analysis, and underlines the need for further emphasis to be given to the reduction of Listeria monocytogenes in high-risk foods, such as multicomponent foods, which are consumed without any further treatment. The need for targeted dietary advice for the elderly population is also highlighted.

Future impact of food safety issues on animal production and trade: implications for research

This review describes the emergence of food safety as an important factor influencing international trade and discusses why it will be increasingly so into the foreseeable future. The continuing development of an international framework for conducting food safety risk analysis is summarised. Livestock researchers have an important role to play in recognising and warning of potential food safety threats and in generating risk assessment data. The need for greater awareness of food safety issues among livestock researchers in Australia is suggested. Possible strategies and infrastructure for Australian institutions engaged in livestock health and production research, which may assist in strengthening the interface with government agencies responsible for protecting consumers and exports from food safety threats, are also considered. Corynetoxins are used as an example of a potential food safety issue of relevance to livestock production in Australia.

Development of Food Safety Risk Assessment Guidelines for Foods of Animal Origin in International Trade

The international food safety environment is currently in a unique period of reevaluation and change. In an emerging trading environment regulated more according to food safety requirements than nontariff trade protection barriers, food safety risk analysis is pivotal to future Codex activities and implementation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement. Development of guidelines for food safety risk assessment requires determination of scope, internationally agreed definitions, general principles, guidelines tailored for each class of foodborne hazards, and linkages and interactions with risk management and risk communication. Food safety risk assessments need to be soundly based on science, should incorporate the four analytical steps of the risk assessment paradigm, and should be documented in a transparent and readily understandable form. The particular needs of Codex, the WTO, national governments, industry, and consumers need to be taken into account, and this includes identification of the essential linkages between risk assessment and the design of HACCP plans. With respect to chemical hazards in food, a risk assessment approach provides the opportunity to broaden the understanding of acceptable daily intakes, maximum residue levels, and their public health significance. Guidelines for chemicals in foods will inevitably have to address the differences between safety evaluation and a genuine risk assessment approach. With respect to microbiological hazards, the unique problems associated with risk assessment of living organisms in food make it likely that application of guidelines in the medium term will more commonly use qualitative approaches. In the absence of a history of safety evaluation according to a notionally zero risk baseline, as is the case with chemicals, the objective of microbiological risk analysis to reduce microbial risks to “the minimum which is technologically feasible and practical” represents a genuine focus for risk assessment. As risk assessment is increasing applied and internationally accepted guidelines become established, decision criteria for risk management arguably present the greatest challenge in establishing and maintaining quantitative SPS measures for food in international trade and judging their equivalence. However, the desire of all interested parties for scientifically justified food safety measures may be tempered according to the ability of the global scientific community to generate the necessary data and the political will to accept food safety programmes in different countries that have equivalent outputs.