Exposure Assessment of Microbiological Hazards in Food: Guidelines (Microbiological Risk Assessment Series)

Exposure assessment is one of the four steps of microbiological risk assessment, which include hazard identification, exposure assessment, hazard characterization and risk characterization. It provides an estimation of the likely intake of a microbiological hazard in a specific food or a range of foods. It can be undertaken qualitatively or quantitatively and ideally will also provide information on the actual amount of hazard consumed. This volume provides guidelines for the exposure assessment of microbiological hazards in food. It outlines the principles of exposure assessment as well as the data needed and approaches available for carrying out exposure assessment. The guidelines also address the issues of uncertainty, variability, quality and communication as they relate to exposure assessment. This volume and others in this Microbiological Risk Assessment Series contain information that is useful to both risk assessors and risk managers, including international scientific committees, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, governments and food regulatory agencies, scientists, food producers and industries and other people or institutions with an interest in the area of microbiological hazards in foods, their impact on human health and food trade and their control. TITLE......Page 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS......Page 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 7 CONTRIBUTORS......Page 9 FOREWORD......Page 11 PREPARATION AND PURPOSE OF THESE GUIDELINES......Page 13 ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE TEXT......Page 15 1. INTRODUCTION......Page 16 2. THE PROCESS OF EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT......Page 20 3. MODELLING APPROACHES......Page 26 4. DATA FOR EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT......Page 50 5. VARIABILITY, UNCERTAINTY AND SENSITIVITY......Page 72 6. ASSURING EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT QUALITY......Page 78 7. COMMUNICATION IN EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT......Page 82 8. USING THE GUIDELINES......Page 84 9. REFERENCES CITED......Page 86 APPENDIX 1. EXAMPLE OFA QUALITATIVE EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT......Page 92 APPENDIX 2. POTENTIAL DATA SOURCES......Page 100 APPENDIX 3. TERMINOLOGY......Page 102 APPENDIX 4. PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTIONS ANDSTOCHASTIC PROCESSES......Page 104