Risk Assessment

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Monitoring impurities in foods is an important tool for protecting vulnerable populations. However, as consumers encounter more reports of detectable impurities in everyday foods, concern is likely to grow unless these findings are clearly communicated in the context of potential health risk. 

This article looks at how the movement of people and equipment in a food processing plant affects food safety risks and how these risks can be successfully managed.

To support the work of the Joint Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA), FAO/WHO are seeking experts and data on the use of omics-based technologies for pathogen detection, outbreak root cause analyses, surveillance, food process monitoring programs, and microbiological risk assessments.

This episode of Food Safety Five discusses a farm-to-fork quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) for Listeria monocytogenes in cantaloupe, a study demonstrating the efficacy of antimicrobial peptides for reducing Salmonella in poultry, and the adoption of new international standards at the 48^th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

Researchers have developed a new, farm-to-fork quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) model to evaluate the risk of Listeria monocytogenes contamination in fresh-cut cantaloupe.

To support the preparation of applications for regulated products, EFSA released a new guidance document detailing the scientific requirements for the characterization and risk assessment of both genetically modified (GM) and non-GM microorganisms used in the food chain.

An ongoing Center for Produce Safety-funded study is investigating the factors contributing to the persistence of a reoccurring, emerging, and persisting (REP) Escherichia coli O157:H7 subtype associated with leafy greens foodborne illness outbreaks, with the goal of developing a risk assessment tool for growers.

As the food safety threats posed by fungal contamination continue to grow, ILSI Europe has introduced a practical risk prioritization framework designed to identify which mycotoxins present the greatest risk to consumers, and where mitigation efforts should be concentrated.

A Latin American–Caribbean consortium, aided by FAO, is working toward establishing Codex Alimentarius-aligned maximum residue limits (MRLs) for regionally important veterinary drug residues, advancing food safety.

In a new paper supported by the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS), experts demystify Probabilistic Exposure Assessments (PEAs)—a more accurate approach for estimating dietary exposure to chemicals—by offering a comprehensive overview of their history, applications, and regulatory guidance.