Use of Food Testing Data for Risk Assessment

The newest tools for enhancing food safety involve use of data for developing and testing computer models that evaluate various risk management approaches.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Pesticide Data Program (PDP) was created in 1991 to test foods for pesticide residues to have information available to respond to public concerns regarding wholesomeness of the U.S. food supply.  PDP has since evolved to become the main source of data for dietary risk assessment of pesticides and has the largest database in the world on environmental contaminants.   The Environmental Protection Agency uses PDP data to prepare realistic pesticide dietary exposures that enable the Agency to make decisions regarding use of pesticides on food crops and the maximum pesticide residues (tolerances) allowed in foods.  
In 2001, USDA received funding for the creation of a similar program that would, over time, provide data for microbial risk assessment. The Microbiological Data Program (MDP) is following PDP steps and has adopted similar criteria for data collection that include harmonization of sampling and laboratory procedures, computerized data reporting, and quality assurance protocols.  MDP is expected to be a source of data to develop and test mathematical models that examine risks of pathogenic contamination of foods.