The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) are searching for experts and data on the use of omics-based technologies to support the work of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA).

Specifically, FAO/WHO are interested in experts and data on the use of omics in pathogen detection, outbreak root cause analyses, surveillance, food process monitoring programs, and microbiological risk assessments. 

As DNA sequencing technologies for microbiological hazard identification advance and new molecular-based omics tools are being adopted by researchers and stakeholders, new opportunities are presented to bolster microbiological risk assessments. In this context, JEMRA is undertaking new work to evaluate the potential of omics in microbiological risk assessments, and to assess how this development could influence future risk management options undertaken by food authorities and companies.

The purpose of expert consultation is to review and discuss available data and background documents, which will be considered to assess the need to update the existing JEMRA guidance document for microbiological risk assessment. The meeting objectives are to:

• Compile a catalogue of currently available omics (i.e., genomics/metagenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) technologies and methodologies for microbiological risk assessment
• Review and assess the challenges, obstacles, and benefits of applying omics technologies and methods for data generation, collection, and analysis in multifaceted scenarios (e.g., different genes, proteins, and/or metabolites from different microbiological hazards, different laboratory capacity settings, etc.) and map and develop approaches to reduce data variability and increase the interoperability of outputs
• Provide scientific options on how to choose, analyze, and translate the omics data and methods for microbiological risk assessment purposes
• Review and consider practices that require standardized microbiological food safety omics practice by considering in vitro and in vivo (e.g., host genetics), genotype and phenotype, epigenetic, strain variability, microbial interactions (e.g. microbiome, environment), behavior changes, and other factors.

The call for experts and data can be accessed on WHO’s website. The deadline for expert applications is December 19, 2025. Data should be submitted by January 19, 2025.