for the Implementation of International Standards
related to Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures
ECONOMIC COOPERATION SUPPORT PROGRAMME (AECSP)
Disclaimer
This e-learning module has been developed for the teaching purposes and material contained in it is of general nature.
It is not intended to be relied upon as legal advice and the concepts and comments may not be applicable in all circumtances.
ECONOMIC COOPERATION SUPPORT PROGRAMME (AECSP)
There is a difference between a hazard and a risk. This concept was discussed in module 3.1 but is reviewed here.
A hazard is a biological, chemical or physical agent in, or condition of, food with the potential to cause and adverse health effect.
A hazard can be essential to maintain human health, but cause health problems at very low or very high levels of intake.
For example: iodine as an essential micronutrient, but both insufficient intake and excessive intake can lead to health problems.
Risk is a function of the probability of an adverse health effect and the severity of that effect, consequential to a hazard(s) in food.
From Lammerding AM, Fazil A. 2000. Hazard identification and exposure assessment for microbial food safety risk assessment. 58(147-157). Available in Resources tab
Before starting a risk assessment of a specific commodity, hazards must be identified.
Type of hazards:
- Biological: bacteria (e.g Campylobacter spp), virus (e.g Norovirus spp), parasite (e.g Giardia spp)
- Chemical: mycotoxins, pesticides residues
- Physical: glass, metal, plastic
The important question to answer is here:
Is there sufficient evidence to consider that a substance can cause an adverse health effect?
Every single hazards for a specific commodity cannot be considered in a single risk assessment. This is where hazard prioritisation is required, to decide which hazard to focus on.
A document about this is available in the resources tab.
There are several factors to consider to hazard characterisation. These factors can be grouped into five key areas.
Factors to consider in relation to the pathogen or substance include intrinsic properties, virulence and pathogenicity, pathological characteristics and diseases caused, host specificity, invasiveness, portal of entry, potential for secondary spread, strain variability, antimicrobial, resistance and its effect on severity to disease.
Factors to consider in relation to the host include age, general health status, immune status, underlying health conditions, genetic background, use of medications, pregnancy, nutritional status, body weight, demographic, social and behavioural traits.
Factors to consider in relation to the disease include clinical forms, duration of illness, severity of disease (morbidity, mortality, sequelae), physiopathology, epidemiological pattern, secondary transmission, quality of life.
Factors to consider for the influence of the matrix on the host-pathogen relationship include the protection of the agent against physiological barriers, induction of stress response, effects of the transport of the pathogen through the gastro-intestinal tracts.
Factors to consider related to the dose-relationship include the organism type and strain, route of exposure, level of exposure (the dose), adverse effect to be considered (the response), characteristics of the exposed population, duration or multiplicity of exposure.
Existing hazard characterisation reports can be re-used for other risk assessments.
Probability of exposure
In the exposure assessment, the risk assessor estimates how likely it is that a consumer, or a group of consumers, is exposed to the hazard and how high the level of exposure is.
The probability of exposure is among other influenced by…
Hazard prevalence
The prevalence of the hazard in the food commodity–with increasing prevalence consumers are most likely to be exposed.
Dietary habits
The probability of exposure can differ between subgroups of the population due to differences in consumption patterns.
Gathering consumption data from the population in which the risk assessment is being carried out is essential. This consumption data can be gathered through national surveys or international initiatives such as the GEMS/Food consumption database by the WHO.
To access to the GEMS/Food consumption database website please click here.
Production, handling and preparation process
Certain processes can increase or decrease the level of contamination and therefore, change the probability of exposure of the consumer.
Risk can be expressed qualitatively or quantitatively.
The overall risk is expressed in words. The table presents an example of a possible matrix for a qualitative risk assessment.
The overall risk is expressed numerically. The table presents an example of the results of a quantitative risk assessment.
Both qualitative and quantitative risk assessments have their merits. Particular circumstances and data availability might determine which option would be preferable for a specific risk assessment.
A multidisciplinary approach is required for risk assessment.
An epidemiologist can provide expertise about how a disease can spread within a population.
A public health expert has knowledge about the human health effects on a specific hazard.
A laboratory expert can provide data on laboratory results.
A food technologist can provide expertise on how processing parameters influence the food product.
Not all experts need to be in the risk assessment team, but they need to be contacted as external experts.
Food safety risk assessment can be carried out by risk assessors in various offices, for example…
To assess population level health implication.
As part of a research project.
To assess production processes for their own company.
For example, by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
There is a close link between risk assessment and risk management
ECONOMIC COOPERATION SUPPORT PROGRAMME (AECSP)
