application of alternative food-preservation - Bentham Science

Risk Assessment Application of Alternative Food-Preservation Technologies 5
The QRA was proposed by the Codex Alimentarius, as decision process to maintain hazard below a defined
level; it is generally used both at International and Country Levels as a mean for the definition and assessment of
health policies, through the evaluation of the sanitary risks associated with some hazards (microorganisms,
toxins, chemicals…) by means of epidemiological data, predictive modeling and challenge tests. It is followed
by a phase or risk communication (from the scientists to the stakeholders and vice versa) and risk management
(definition of standards and guidelines). The following sections of this chapter focus on this kind of approach.
The risk categorization, known also as food-factory categorization, was introduced in the EU by the regulation
882/2004 for food of animal origin (milk, meat, egg) and is based on the evaluation and classification of a food
factory as a function of the risk associated. This classification is aimed to the establishment of the number of the
official controls for each producer and for the individuation of the weak point of the food chain.
The regulation states that a flow-chart should be assessed for each group of food-producers (or better for each
food-producer), with the aim of combining and evaluating the risk associated with production and the
effectiveness of the control measures. This flow chart uses 9 different parameters, as follows:
Potential hazard (microbiological, chemical, physical…), as a function of the product.
Food processing and raw material.
Target (consumers using the product).
Amount of food produced by the industry.
Risks for the human health.
Animal wellness.
Manufacturing practices.
Hygiene into the environment.
Efficacy of the risk management system.
The use of the flow chart results in a numerical rank, which defines:
1. the risk associated with the particular food producers and food-product;
2. the number of official and internal controls needed to assure a sufficient level of health protection;
3. the weak points of the chain that should be checked.
The risk-benefit analysis is an approach quite similar to the QRAs and is generally proposed and used for the
evaluation of the acceptable daily intake and toxic levels of nutrients and chemicals; this kind of evaluation has
been recently proposed by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) also for the microbiological hazards.
The risk-benefit analysis is based on some simple assumptions (Fig. 1):
Everyone has a propensity to take risks.
This propensity varies amongst individuals.
Perception of risk is influenced by experience of accidents.
Individual risk taking decisions represent balancing act in which perceptions of risk are weighed
against propensity to take risk.
By definition accidents are a consequence of taking risk; the more risks a person takes, the greater
will be both the rewards and losses he/she incurs.
As regards the use of the risk-benefit analysis throughout food microbiology and food science, the evaluation of
the hierarchy of risks is performed through a parameter called DALYs (e.g. Disability Adjusted Life), defined as
the sum of the years loosen as a consequence of the hazards and the years affected by a “disability” [6].