Principles and guidelines for incorporating quantitative risk assessment in the development of microbiological food hygiene standards, guidelines and related texts

At the basis of safe food production practises is the design and manufacture of products with a good safety record. When new products are developed, informed and qualified judgement is used which considers potential microbiological hazards and the necessary control measures as part of the HACCP concept. The Hazard Analysis part is often referred to as a safety assessment or risk assessment. However, unlike “safety”, the word “risk” in this case is not used in the particular meaning of "consumer health risk". It is used in a broader sense because the industry manages many different risks. [Evidently, there is a need to clarify and harmonise terminology (Kirchsteiger 2002)]. For the purpose of this annex, the two terms will be used in the specific context of consumer health as (1) safety assessment: when it refers to assessments of product safety by qualified persons on the basis of HACCP and knowledge/experience; (2) risk assessment: designating the involvement of the systematic processes of hazard identification, hazard characterisation, exposure assessment and risk characterisation as described in the Codex Alimentarius document (CAC/GL 30-1999).