Microbial Risk Assessments Related to Horticultural Products

Food protection risk assessment can be broadly defined as the use of scientific data to rank or measure hazards, assess exposure, and characterize risks associated with specific foods or food production practices. Risk Assessment, along with Risk Management and Risk Communication comprise the overall Risk Analysis paradigm adopted in the mid-1990’s by numerous federal agencies to make regulatory decisions related to food protection. This adoption was based on an executive order from the President issued in September 1993 which requires agencies to use scientific data to assess risks and costs/benefits prior to proposing regulations. Assessments may be qualitative in nature, often involving ranking of risks associated with a specific situation, or quantitative in nature resulting in a number to describe an amount of risk associated with a specific situation. Risk assessments may address one microorganism in one food product (e.g., Salmonella in almonds), a specific production process, points within the food chain, or a group of toxins/microorganisms related with general category such as produce or poultry. This presentation will provide information about risk analysis and the risk assessment process as well as results from specific produce-related risk assessments.