POTENTIAL APPLICATION OF RISK ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES TO MICROBIOLOGICAL ISSUES RELATED TO INTERNATIONAL-TRADE IN FOOD AND FOOD-PRODUCTS

One of the components of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Sa nitary and Phytosanitary agreement that will have far-reaching effects on international trade in foods and food products is the requirement for countries to provide risk assessments as part of the process of re solving disputes that involve food safety issues. Risk assessment is a means of evaluating the likelihood and impact of hazards. It provides a framework for systematically considering available data, providing rationales for assumptions, and identifying areas where additional inf ormation is needed. While the application of quantitative risk assessm ent techniques to microbial food safety has been limited, recent studi es have increasingly demonstrated its feasibility. Quantitative risk a ssessment is particularly well suited for use with the hazard analysis critical control point and appears to have potential as an approach f or comparing the equivalence of international food safety programs and inspection systems.