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Risk Analysis in Food Microbiology Task Force

Assessment of Benefits and Risks

Objectives

The mission of the Risk Analysis in Food Microbiology Task Force is to advance the scientific basis of microbiological risk analysis. Its objectives are:

To contribute to the development of a conceptual framework and an agreed terminology for microbiological risk assessment, and
To develop and improve tools to manage safety hazards and risks in food production systems.

Impact

The HACCP Concise Monograph has been widely used as a training tool by academia and industry; it has been translated into 7 languages, ensuring its worldwide dissemination.

The task force has been collaborating with IAFP (International Association for Food Protection) in organising the annual food safety symposia in Europe with inputs in various sessions to disseminate the results of their activities.

A flyer providing information on the ILSI Europe microbiology programme comprising activities of the Emerging Microbiological Issues Task Force and the Risk Analysis in Microbiology Task Force can be downloaded here.

Activities

Follow-up activity on Omics

A workshop on ‘Microbiological Risk Assessment – Application of Omics Technology’ on 17 May in Ede (NL) was organised prior to IAFP’s 7th European Food Safety symposium. The workshop aimed to broaden the knowledge of the basics and application of genomics techniques as it applies to risk analysis amongst the food microbiology community. It brought together experts in food microbiology, MRA, quantitative microbiology, molecular biology and bioinformatics. The event stimulated some ‘out of the box thinking’ on genomics application areas and identified recommendations for research needs in the ‘omics’ field to the benefit of MRA. A summary of the workshop will be published as a review article in the Trends in Food Science and Technology journal (in press).

The task force will be considering the following two approaches to address this topic:

Deconstruction of risk assessment model which will be a review-type of an activity looking at available data. This will be a short-term project wherein 1-2 scenarios Salmonella, EHEC or bacillus) will be considered. The outcome will be published as an article in a peer-reviewed journal or in the ILSI Europe Report Series.
The second approach will depend on the data generated in the first approach. The aim is to submit a proposal on ‘Food safety systems biology’ for external funding. The project will be long-term activity with the aim to apply -omics in the food chain. Available risk assessments will be reviewed. Case studies in various foods with considerations of specific organisms will be addressed, such as Salmonella, bacillus organisms in dairy and vegetable products. Relevant stakeholders will be involved in this project.

History of Safe Use

Food safety control goes more and more from end product testing to management and control. Still end product criteria exist. Differences between criteria for products coming from lines with different levels of control do not really exist, although in principle more confidence could be given to a product from a well-managed line than from a batch that complies with specific microbiological criteria. Also in legislation sometimes, especially in environmental criteria, more long term criteria are appearing and hopefully this trend will continue.

It should be in future more ‘a license to produce’ based on real food safety chain control, with testing used only for verification. This in contrast with use of microbiological criteria only, as sole measure to control, since due to statistical aspects, and even more for heterogeneous contaminants, the level of control of all achievable sampling plans is barely appropriate.

The activity aims to develop a report which could provide guidance on HACCP plans, validation data needed to support HACCP plan and verification of records consisting of relevant information such as products, pathogens indicated and type of indicators. The outcome of this activity will be published in the ILSI Europe Report Series.

Industrial Microbiological Risk Assessment (MRA)

Many SMEs do not have the resources or full understanding of MRA. They rely on training courses, publications and the government for assistance. The information that currently exists in the public domain is theoretical and very generic. Application to each industry sector is difficult and, in some cases, next to impossible. This new activity will aim to develop a series of concise monographs directed towards each food sector explaining the different approaches to MRA with examples. It is intended to explain MRA in the context of fit-for-purpose which would help guide the SMEs in understanding and applying risk assessment to their process.

Tools for Microbiological Risk Assessment

This activity aims to develop a concise report one the tools for microbiological risk assessment. Such a guide would complement the very successful ‘Food Safety Management Tools’ ILSI Europe Report.

At government level, microbiological risk assessment (MRA) is increasingly recognised as a structured and objective approach to understand the level of risk in a given food/pathogen scenario. Tools developed so far support qualitative and quantitative assessments of the risk that a pathogen in a food poses to a particular population. Risk can be expressed as absolute numbers or as relative (ranked) risks. The food industry is beginning to appreciate that the tools for MRA can increase the understanding of microbiological risks in foods.

It is timely to inform food safety professionals about the availability and utility of MRA tools. Therefore, the expert group is currently collating a critical overview of tools used at different stages of the MRA process. Among the tools evaluated will be techniques to include expert judgement in MRAs, to characterise dose-response relationships, to model growth, survival and death of micro-organisms, to model the food chain or specific processes in it, and to integrate data from the various MRA stages. The evaluation would address the data requirements for various MRA tools and pootential limitations on interpretation. The outcome of this project was recently published in the ILSI Europe Report Series.

Update of the Report on Food Safety Management Tools

The ILSI Europe Report on ‘Food Safety Management Tools’ published in 1998 is currently being updated taking into account current developments, e.g. the Food Safety Objectives concept. An expert group was formed to undertake this task. The primary focus of the report is on microbiological issues but the general principles addressed are equally applicable to the management of chemical and physical contaminants. The outcome of this project was recently published in the ILSI Europe Report Series.

Thermal Processing

The task force has an ongoing activity on risk assessment approaches to setting thermal processes in food manufacturing.

It aims to demonstrate how risk-based concepts and risk assessment techniques can be applied to the setting of thermal processes in food manufacturing. Many operations are governed by official or industry standards (e.g. process must/should achieve a 5 log reduction in Salmonella, a 12 log reduction in Clostridium botulinum). These standards provide a ‘safe harbour’ for manufacturers lacking detailed knowledge of factors relevant to risk, such as the level of raw ingredient contamination, the variability of their process, fate of the product in the marketplace, and the influence of the hazard on human illness.

More precise knowledge on risk assessment concepts and techniques can improve the safety of thermal processing and optimise product quality, cost and energy use. The transparency of the risk assessment framework allows for the demonstration of safety to regulators and other stakeholders. The activity will look at examples that range from the more simplistic application of risk assessment approaches to increasingly complex examples that allow for greater precision. The capabilities and effort required will be highlighted for each of the examples.

Task Force Collaborators

Members - 2012

Dr. Bizhan Pourkomailian - Chair -	McDonald’s Europe	UK
Mr. John Bassett - Co-chair -	Unilever	UK

Dr. Roy Betts	Campden BRI	UK
Dr. Christophe Boulais	Danone	FR
Dr. Paola Carnevali	Barilla G & R Fratelli	IT
Dr. Andy Davies	H. J. Heinz	UK
Dr. Mats Peterz	Nestlé	CH
Dr. Anett Winkler	Kraft Foods Europe	DE
Prof. Marcel Zwietering	Wageningen University	NL

Dr. Pratima Rao Jasti	ILSI Europe	BE
Mr. Frederic Timmermans	ILSI Europe	BE

Expert Group Follow-up activity on Omics

Dr. Roy Betts - Chair -	Campden BRI	UK

Mr. John Bassett	Unilever	UK
Prof. Stanley Brul	University of Amsterdam	NL
Dr. Paul Cook	Food Standards Agency	UK
Prof. Sophia Kathariou	North Carolina State University	US
Dr. Peter McClure (Emerging Microbiological Issues TF)	Unilever	UK
Dr. Benno ter Kuile	The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority	NL

Dr. Pratima Rao Jasti	ILSI Europe	BE

Expert Group Tools for Microbiological Risk Assessment

Mr. John Bassett - Chair -	Unilever	UK

Dr. Ronald Lindqvist	National Food Administration	SE
Dr. Maarten Nauta	Technical University of Denmark	DK
Prof. Marcel Zwietering	Wageningen University	NL

Dr. Pratima Rao Jasti	ILSI Europe	BE

Expert Group Update of Food Safety Management Tools Report

Expert Group
Dr. Bizhan Pourkomailian - Chair -	McDonald’s Europe	UK
Dr. Stephen Crossley	Food Standards – Australia and New Zealand	UK
Scientific Referee
Prof. Roger Stephan	University of Zürich	CH
Coordination
Dr. Pratima Rao Jasti	ILSI Europe	BE

Expert Group on Thermal Processing

Dr. Andy Davies - Chair -	H. J. Heinz	UK

Dr. David Bean	Mars	UK
Dr. François Bourdichon	Danone (now Nestlé)	FR
Dr. David Bresnahan	Kraft Foods	US
Prof. Anemie Geeraerd	University of Leuven	BE
Dr. Tim Jackson	Nestlé	CA
Dr. Jeanne-Marie Membré	University of Nantes, ONIRIS - INRA	FR
Dr. Bizhan Pourkomailian	McDonald’s Europe	UK
Prof. Philip Richardson	Campden BRI	UK
Prof. Mieke Uyttendaele	University of Ghent	BE
Dr. Anett Winkler	Kraft Foods Europe	DE
Prof. Marcel Zwietering	Wageningen University	NL

Dr. Pratima Rao Jasti	ILSI Europe	BE

Publications

D. Bean, F. Bourdichon, D. Bresnahan, et al. Risk Assessment Approaches to setting Thermal Processes in Food Manufacture. ILSI Europe Report Series 2012: 1-40.

J. Bassett, M. Nauta et al. Tools for Microbiological Risk Assessment. ILSI Europe Report Series 2012: 1:40.

S. Crossley a,d Y. Motarjemi. Food safety Management Tools 2nd edition. ILSI Europe Report Series 2011:1-26.

J. Bassett. Impact of Microbial Distributions on Food Safety. ILSI Europe Report Series 2010:1-64.

A. Lammerding. Using Microbiological Risk Assessment (MRA) in Food Safety Management. ILSI Europe Report Series 2007:1-36.

M. Reij, E. van Asselt, J-L Cordier, L. Gorris. Recontamination as a Source of Pathogens in Processed Foods – A Literature Review. ILSI Europe Report Series 2005:1-28.

Food Safety Objectives – Role in Microbiological Food Safety Management. Food Control 2005;16(9):775-830. (Proceedings)

M. Stringer. Food Safety Objectives - Role in Microbiological Food Safety Management. ILSI Europe Report Series 2004:1-36. (Report)

M. Reij, E. den Aantrekker and the ILSI Europe Risk Analysis in Microbiology Task Force. Recontamination as a Source of Pathogens in Processed Foods. International Journal of Food Microbiology 2004;91(1):1-11.

M. van Schothorst. A Simple Guide to Understanding and Applying the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Concept -Third Edition. ILSI Europe Concise Monograph Series 2004 :1-23

L.G.M. Gorris, J-L. Jouve and M.F. Stringer, Editors. Microbiological Risk Assessment. International Journal of Food Microbiology 2000;58(3):141-246. (Proceedings)

JL Jouve, M.F. Stringer and A.C. Baird-Parker. Food Safety Management Tools. Food Science and Technology Today 1999;13(2):82-91. (link coming soon)

R. Kirby. Validation and Verification of HACCP. ILSI Europe Report Series 1999:1-20.

J-L. Jouve, M.F. Stringer and A.C. Baird-Parker. Food Safety Management Tools. ILSI Europe Report Series 1998:1-20.

A Simple Guide to Understanding and Applying the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Concept. Second edition. ILSI Europe Concise Monograph Series 1998.

A Simple Guide to Understanding and Applying the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Concept. ILSI Europe Concise Monograph Series 1993.

To download the ILSI Europe Microbiology Programme Flyer, click here.

To download the poster of the task force, please click here.

For more information, please contact info@ilsieurope.be.