QUANTITATIVE RISK ANALYSIS AND THE PRODUCTION OF MICROBIOLOGICALLY SAFE FOOD - AN INTRODUCTION

There is increasing interest in the application of quantitative risk a nalysis (QRA) in the production of microbiologically safe food product s. QRA can be defined as a stepwise analysis of health risks which may be associated with a particular type of food product, resulting in an estimation of the probability of occurrence of negative health effect s following the consumption of that food and the nature of these risks . Starting with this definition, the following successive components c an be recognised: (1) hazard identification, which is a qualitative in dication of the potential microbial hazards that may be associated wit h the consumption of a particular food product; (2) exposure assessmen t, which is the quantitative estimation of the dose of potentially haz ardous organisms to which the consumer is exposed at the time of consu mption of the food; (3) dose response assessment, which is the process of obtaining quantitative information on the negative effects of diff erent levels of exposure to potentially hazardous organisms on the hea lth of the consumer; (4) risk characterization, which comprises the ac tivities that are carried out to rank the disorders according to sever ity, perception, economic and social consequences etc., enabling a dec ision to be made about the acceptance of a particular risk; and (5) ri sk management, which is the complex of analyses and judgements to redu ce the probability of occurrence of unacceptable risks.