Africa Knowledge Management Portal
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Risk Characterization of Microbiological Hazards in Food
Health Risk Environment
Description
Risk assessment of microbiological hazards in foods (Microbiological Risk Assessment - MRA) has been identified as a priority area of work by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). Following the work of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH), CAC adopted Principles and Guidelines for the Conduct of Microbiological Risk Assessment (CAC/GL-30 (1999) - CAC, 1999). Subsequently, at its 32nd session, the CCFH identified a number of areas in which it required expert risk assessment advice. At the international level it should also be noted that the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (WTO, no date) requires members to ensure that their measures are based on an assessment of the risks, as appropriate to the circumstances, taking into account thecrisk assessment techniques developed by the relevant international organizations