This book concerns itself with the quantification of risk, the modeling of identified risks and how to make decisions from those models. Quantitative risk analysis (QRA) using Monte Carlo simulation offers a powerful and precise method for dealing with the uncertainty and variability of a problem. By providing the building blocks the author guides the reader through the necessary steps to produce an accurate risk analysis model and offers general and specific techniques to cope with most modeling problems. A wide range of solved problems is used to illustrate these techniques and how they can be used together to solve otherwise complex problems.

This article provides an overview of risk analysis and its components, different approaches to deal with risks and challenges, CAC and Related Expert Committees, and the benefits of risk analysis from a global perspective.

This website illustrates the OIE Code and its interpretation. This resource includes sections on hazard identification, principles of risk assessment and risk management, risk assessment steps, risk assessment epidemiological components, and analysis of the OIE chapter sections on risk management and risk communication.

This special issue provides a brief introduction on food safety risk assessments from an international perspective and highlights some of the research around the world as part of this global move toward risk-based food safety policy. 

The final papers in this special issue provide examples of how risk assessment is being applied to inform specific food-safety policy decisions and of how far microbial risk assessment has come in the past decade and a half. 

This article illustrates the relationship between risk analysis and the precautionary principle (PP) by reviewing definitions of the PP with particular reference to the role of risk assessment. In general, the PP is employed as a means of justifying decisions that are contrary to the conclusions of a formal risk assessment.

Even where risk assessment is accepted as part of a precautionary approach, its importance in subsequent decision-making tends to be undermined by application of the PP.

This article considers the implications for the future of risk assessment-based decisions in areas as diverse as environmental protection and food safety.

This article provides an overview of risk analysis and outlines the import risk analysis procedures adopted by the Veterinary Services of one Member Country of the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health).

This article describes risk management, risk assessment and risk communication and states that good risk assessment and communication are dependent on clear formulation of the question to be answered.

This article also illustrates that scenario trees and influence diagrams could be very useful tools in assessing and communicating risk.

This report considers some tools available for food safety management and outlines a framework for their interaction and use. Some of the tools described are HACCP, GMP, GHP, Risk Analysis and Total Quality Management.

Although the primary focus of this report is on microbiological issues, the general principles addressed by the report are equally applicable to the management of chemical and physical contaminants.

This video provides an introduction to food safety risk analysis. It describes the principles of risk assessment with a focus on microbiological food safety hazards. This video also illustrates how to utilize risk assessment results to manage risk, as well as challenges of risk communication.

This CFSAN training video is in English, with a choice of format and captioned language available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean and Spanish.

This technical paper focuses on the importance and application of risk analysis to seven major risk sectors of aquaculture production: pathogen risks, food safety and public health risks, ecological (pests) risks, genetic risks, environmental risks, financial risks and social risks.

Part 1 of the document consists of 12 peer-reviewed technical papers relative to the application of risk analysis to aquaculture that were prepared by 23 specialists papers on: general principles of risk analysis, food safety and public health risks associated with products of aquaculture, pathogen risk analysis, application of risk analysis to genetic issues in aquaculture ecological risk assessment and management of exotic organisms, introduced marine species risk assessment, guidelines for ecological risk assessment of marine fish aquaculture, the aquaculture insurance industry risk analysis process and risk analysis experiences from small-scale shrimp farmers in India.

Part 2 contains the detailed outcomes of the deliberations of 42 experts who developed the contents of a Manual on the Application of Risk Analysis to Aquaculture, discussed in great length the seven risk sectors and reached general conclusions and specific recommendations to enhance the application of the risk analysis process to aquaculture production.

This document describes important food issues in the context of food safety, quality and consumer protection at the global level. This document present guidelines and strengthening strategies to develop national food control systems. This document may also be found here.

The FAO website provides an overview of risk analysis as it relates to food safety. This resource emphasizes that risk analysis offers national food safety authorities a framework to make significant improvements in food safety. This website provides related information on integrated food control systems and access to food safety material developed by FAO and WHO.

The Focus of the 2003 annual CSL/JIFSAN Joint Symposium on Food Safety and Nutrition was Risk Analysis. Symposium sessions addressed the selection and conduction of 'major' risk assessments, benefits of the risk analysis approach, risk perception and public trust, risk communication, assessing exposure, toxicology data basis for risk analysis, epidemiology and risk analysis case studies related to food safety.

This presentation describes an overview of the benefits of risk analysis from a food industry perspective. It explains that risk analysis provides a framework for considering scientific data adding value by incorporating stakeholder issues and increasing the acceptability of risk management decisions.

This presentation illustrates systematic steps and an iterative approach to select and conduct risk assessments addressing data quality and transparency concerns. The CFSAN/FDA report titled "Initiation and Conduct of All 'Major' Risk Assessments within a Risk Analysis Framework" may be found here.

This special issue of Food Control features a number of articles focusing on the topic of risk analysis of food safety. These articles report the findings that have emerged from the work that the authors of these articles have carried out on food risk analysis within the frame of the Integrated Research Project “Promoting Food Safety through a New Integrated Risk Analysis Approach for Foods” (acronym: SAFE FOODS).

The Procedural Manual of the Codex Alimentarius Commission describes the legal foundations and practical functioning of the Commission and its subsidiary bodies. Knowledge of the contents of this Manual is essential for Codex members and observers to participate effectively in the work of the Commission. This document may also be found here.

In this paper, the authors consider food chain risks and specifically address stakeholder participation in the risk analysis process. The authors also combine social and natural science perspectives to explore the participation process in relation to food risks and, in particular, to consider how some specific participation processes might be scientifically evaluated and how stakeholder participation in general might be incorporated into food risk decision making. The writers have built considerations based on three large integrative case studies that examine aspects of participatory processes. Finally, the authors use the case studies collectively to illustrate observations and beliefs concerning the nature of the interaction of stakeholders with established quantitative risk methodologies

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) formed a working group to evaluate and improve the quality and consistency of major risk assessments conducted by the Center. Drawing on risk analysis experiences, CFSAN developed a practical framework for initiating and managing risk assessments, including addressing issues related to (i) commissioning a risk assessment, (ii) interactions between risk managers and risk assessors, and (iii) peer review.

This paper was address at the 36th Symposium of the Swiss Society of Food Hygiene, in Zurich, on 8 October 2003. The lecture discusses the concept of risk analysis, and its components, and provides a brief description of each. Microbiological risk assessment, and the role of regulatory agents is also examined.

This report from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) discusses animal disease diagnosis, surveillance, risk analysis, general recommendations in disease prevention and control, trade measures, veterinary public health, and animal welfare.

Risk has been defined by the World Health Organization International Program on Chemical Safety as “the probability of an adverse effect in an organism, system or (sub) population caused under specified circumstances by exposure to an agent”. This article addresses some of the key components of this definition.

This manual deals with risk-based inspection of primary production operations and food processing establishments. Although it does not address retail food service and food preparation operations specifically, some of the material may be suitable for such applications.

National food inspection procedures should be integrated across the different types of food sector, including imported, exported and domestic products; however the manual does not cover food import and export inspections.The implementation of HACCP and auditing processes are not covered by this manual.

Food quality inspection has been included in this manual to assist countries who undertake inspection of both food safety and quality issues. The FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 89 may also be found here.

Guide developed to assist food safety regulators’ understanding and use of risk analysis in national food safety frameworks, and provides essential background information, guidance and practical examples.The primary audience is food safety officials at the national government level. This document may also be found here.

This document describes the process of risk analysis as employed at FSIS. The document is referenced in 68 FR 61183, Docket No. 03-032N, "Public Meeting on Risk Analysis; Notice and Request for Comments," available from GPO Access

This report includes an overview of the CFSAN risk analysis framework, a description of a decision-based approach to identify and select risk assessments, a discussion of conducting risk assessment within the risk analysis framework, examples of communication questions between risk assessors and risk managers, a list of risk communication activities, criteria for identifying candidate risk assessments, and criteria for evaluating technical feasibility

Website created by professionals in environmental health, water and sewage safety, and consumer safety about risk analysis as applied to food safety. There are pages devoted to risk analysis, risk management, risk communication, as well as information on HACCP.

Kick-off presentation of the 2000 JIFSAN seminar series held at FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, featuring Dr. Fritz Kaferstein, JIFSAN distinguished visiting scientist and former director of Food Safety and Aid Program at the World Health Organization and Dr. Will Hueston, director of the JIFSAN Food Safety Risk Analysis Clearinghouse (now FoodRisk.org) and Associate Dean of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine