Principles and guidelines for the conduct of microbiological risk assessment, CAC/GL-30 (1999)

Introduction (from document)

Risks from microbiological hazards are of immediate and serious concern to human health. Microbiological Risk Analysis is a process consisting of three components: Risk Assessment, Risk Management, and Risk Communication, which has the overall objective to ensure public health protection. This document deals with Risk Assessment which is a key element in assuring that sound science is used to establish standards, guidelines and other recommendations for food safety to enhance consumer protection and facilitate international trade. The Microbiological Risk Assessment process should include quantitative information to the greatest extent possible in the estimation of risk. A Microbiological Risk Assessment should be conducted using a structured approach such as that described in this document. This document will be of primary interest to governments although other organizations, companies, and other interested parties who need to prepare a Microbiological Risk Assessment will find it valuable. Since Microbiological Risk Assessment is a developing science, implementation of these guidelines may require a period of time and may also require specialized training in the countries that consider it necessary. This may be particularly the case for developing countries. Although Microbiological Risk Assessment is the primary focus of this document, the method can also be applied to certain other classes of biological hazards.