Food Standards News No. 62
Spring 2007
[ full colour pdf version]
In this edition
New CEO for FSANZ
Food Regulators' Science Network Forum Workshop
Changes to the FSANZ Act
Food Safety Conference considers the future of regulation
Food safety in the fresh produce industry
Conference briefs
FSANZ and APVMA deliver streamlined food standards for chemical residues
Novel Foods Standard under review
Canadian specialist adds weight to our Microbial Risk Assessment workshop
New Chief Executive Officer for FSANZ
Stephen McCutcheon has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer for FSANZ. He will start on 29 October 2007.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Brett Mason said Mr McCutcheon’s skills and experience would strategically guide the organisation in managing increasingly complex food regulatory issues brought about by new technologies and consumer expectations.
“Mr McCutcheon has an excellent record in working with multiple jurisdictions across a variety of complex and difficult matters,” he said.
“Further, he has a good understanding of the need to maintain public confidence in the food supply system through the adequate protection of public health while facilitating innovation and technological advances in the food industry.”
FSANZ Board chairman, Rob Knowles, said the Board selected Mr McCutcheon for his demonstrable expertise in science, industry and public health consumer matters, which will strengthen an already solid scientific organisation and ensure it meets the challenges into the future.
“The board is looking forward to working with Mr McCutcheon, who already has detailed knowledge and understanding of the food regulatory system and a proven track record as a sound manager of an organisation of similar size in personnel and budget to FSANZ,” Mr Knowles said.
Mr McCutcheon has been the executive manager, Product Integrity Animal and Plant Health Division, in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry since 2004. He joined the department in 1987 and has served in various roles as assistant director, director and manager, including as a member of the Australian Government Senior Executive Service for the past nine years. During this time he led the team that developed the new food regulatory framework for Australia and New Zealand under the auspices of the Council of Australian Governments, and led the Australian delegations to the Codex Alimentarius Commission and OECD. Mr McCutcheon holds a Bachelor of Economics degree from Sydney University and a Graduate Diploma of Public Law from the Australian National University.
CEO’s message
In 2006-07, FSANZ completed 25 variations to the Food Standards Code – which is on a par with the number of applications and proposals to amend the Code finalised in each of the previous five years. However, the aggregate numbers do not tell the whole story.
Today’s food supply is complex. It is considerably more complex than even five years ago, with the emergence of functional foods and the so-called medicalisation of the food supply. In addition, Australia’s whole-of-chain approach to food safety is requiring us to develop national safety control measures for entire industries.
The result is that, while much of FSANZ’s work may involve the routine processing of applications and proposals, an increasing volume comprises major projects spanning two, three or four years. Recent approvals for mandatory folic acid fortification and the primary production and processing standard for dairy are two examples.
Projects of this sort that either require a new evidence base – as was the case with folic acid fortification – or affect the operations of sectors of food businesses that have not hitherto been regulated by the Code – as with the dairy standard – must include extensive consultation with stakeholders.
In both these examples, consultation had to be broad and deep. Projects involving wellness and public health issues, especially, require a shared understanding of the evidence base among agencies within the food regulatory system and all stakeholders – including the public – on the way forward.
Reaching a degree of consensus can be very time consuming, but it is essential if we are to maintain public confidence in the ability of government to protect consumers from unsafe food or untrue and misleading claims on food labels. More and more of our work will concern discussions and public debates on our evidence base, so that no voice is left unheard when we make our regulatory decision on a food standard. We will continue to make that decision in the interests of the community and the food industries that serve it.
Elsewhere in Food Standards News you will find a reminder about the changes that came into effect on 1 October 2007 for companies and individuals making applications to amend the Code.
At first sight, it may appear than that FSANZ is shortening the consultation periods associated with applications. It is true that the ‘default’ consultation periods for routine applications have been reduced from two rounds to one. But I can assure you that we will maintain the present level of consultation for those projects that are complex and require new knowledge or evidence. We are also strengthening other consultation and advisory mechanisms, such as our Consumer Liaison Committee.
The new arrangements will shorten the time that food businesses will have to wait for routine approvals without compromising the integrity of the standard-development process. For the next year or so, we will be operating the present system side-by-side with the new arrangements. The FSANZ Workplan on our website will tell you which process is being applied to which project.
We expect the new arrangements to enable us to significantly reduce the waiting time for applications to be processed. Only the figures at the end of the financial year will tell us whether we’ve been successful.
Melanie Fisher
Acting Chief Executive
Second Food Regulators’ Science Network Forum Workshop
The News South Wales Food Authority hosted the second Food Regulators’ Science Network Forum (SNF) Workshop on Nutrient Risk Analysis late last May in Sydney.
Delegates included SNF members or their representatives, several FSANZ Fellows and Board members, select academics, members of government agencies and FSANZ staff.
Visiting Canadian specialist Mr Greg Paoli (Decisionalysis Risk Consulting Inc.) opened the workshop with a keynote address on ‘Nutritional Risk analysis – Setting the Scene’.
Other presentations included: assessing nutrient adequacy, assessing nutrient safety, estimating population nutrient intakes, risk categorisation and an introduction to nutritional risk management.
The workshop also featured breakout sessions using a hypothetical example on vitamin D. These sessions gave participants a real insight into the breadth of issues that we cover at FSANZ in our nutrient risk analysis work.
In the morning of the forum’s second day delegates were treated to a presentation on risk communication, a roundtable discussion about risk management and communication issues and a panel discussion.
All the delegates agreed the SNF Workshop was an excellent follow up to the first workshop on Dietary Modelling held in September 2006. It matched closely the principal aim of the workshop series, which is to provide a forum for jurisdictions to discuss a variety of scientific issues relevant to the food supply in Australia and New Zealand.
Changes to the FSANZ Act came into force on 1 October 2007
Changes to the FSANZ Act took effect from 1 October 2007. The changes will improve the assessment and consultation procedures for new and amended food standards and make the regulatory process more efficient, while improving consultation with stakeholders.
Until now, FSANZ has had to use a ‘one size fits all’ model for assessing applications to amend food standards, regardless of the scope of the proposed change. This has caused backlogs in applications that are frustrating for applicants. The amendments to the FSANZ Act solve this problem by allowing three different procedures for applications, based on each application’s level of complexity.
The new procedures are:
- General, a default procedure requiring nine months to complete assessments. It will be used for variations to a food regulation and involves one round of public consultation. It will be the most commonly used procedure
- Minor, requiring three months to complete an assessment, applying to minor variations to food regulatory measures including, but not limited to, correction of a typographical error or minor editorial changes. It involves one round of limited consultation with government agencies only, and if relevant, affected parties
- Major, requiring 12 months to complete an assessment. It applies to the development of a new food standard or a major variation to a food regulation that is scientifically or technically complex. It involves two rounds of public consultation
We published full details of the changes in Food Standards News 61 but, suffice to say, most changes to food standards will in future take nine months for FSANZ to process.
For more details about the changes, or if you would like to subscribe to be notified of new applications to FSANZ, please visit our website.
Food Safety Conference considers the future of regulation
Australia and New Zealand’s food safety standards are among the best in the world but there is still too much regulatory red tape that hinders food industry innovation, delegates to the Second Food Safety Conference in Sydney heard.
World Health Organization food safety specialist Dr Gerald Moy said FSANZ is a world leader in standards setting and this has given the bi-national partnership an enviable reputation that other countries aspire to.
Dr John O’Brien, Chief Executive of Ireland’s Food Safety Authority agreed that FSANZ is up there with the best but reminded delegates that to stay on top, any food safety system must evolve and adapt to a rapidly changing world.
Dr O’Brien said good regulators should be independent of political and food manufacturer interests, be science driven and work in partnerships with all stakeholders, while remembering a regulator’s principal role is to provide a safe food supply for well-informed consumers.
FSANZ acting Chief Executive Officer Dean Stockwell said a benchmark Consumer Attitudes Survey, held earlier this year, confirmed his belief that Australian and New Zealand consumers have an “extraordinarily high level” of trust in the safety of their food supply.
But setting food standards is not a popularity contest, Mr Stockwell said, and there is a natural tension between the competing stakeholder objectives of minimal regulation and freedom to innovate and that of providing certainty for consumers to choose the foods they want. Ultimately, in this striving for balance, some people may not be satisfied.
Nonetheless, Mr Stockwell said that within the regulator’s prime objective of keeping the food supply safe, his aim is to “touch lightly with the regulatory wand so that innovation, that is the lifeblood of a competitive food industry, can flourish”.
Dr O’Brien followed this theme, observing that with regulations ‘less is more’ and that regulations will not by themselves enhance consumers’ trust, particularly about the foods of the future, such as those that are genetically modified or novel in some other way.
And while good science should drive research, consumers get conflicting messages about science, leading them to take emotional decisions rather than rational ones. Regulators should strive for scientific integrity and credibility and must communicate their message honestly and fairly to win consumers’ trust.
“Regulators believe science is 100% objective but the way the facts are put is not necessarily so,” Dr O’Brien said. “We must be pragmatic about science and its limitations.”
Above all, regulators should not over-regulate and that persuasion is much better than enforcement, which is a very poor way of ensuring compliance, Dr O’Brien said.
Mr David Foote, Chief Executive Officer of Australian Country Choice, Queensland’s largest privately owned agribusiness company, agreed heartily, saying costs attributable to his various compliance obligations exceed $1m a year.
The company, a vertically integrated meat processor, is subject to more than 30 audits to cover the company’s regulatory, industry and voluntary standards, certifications and accreditations and would welcome less regulation, especially considering the government has specifically called several times for less regulation since the 1998 Blair Report and, most recently, the Bethwaite Report.
Mr Foote wanted to know whether regulations genuinely prevent foodborne illness in Australia by targeting red meat processing businesses or whether such businesses are just historically an easy target when it would appear the real culprits – bugs spread by unwashed hands or poor personal hygiene practices – are known to be a prime source of infection.
He quoted a Food Safety Information Council survey that found many food handling, preparation and reseller businesses did not follow proper personal hygiene practices to ensure the safety of their food, with 17% not having sufficient hand washing facilities, 7% with no soap or hand cleanser and 14% with no warm running water.
“If consumers expect safe, quality food it is arguable whether the current regulatory approach delivers a better outcome than self regulation with third party audit to an Australian or internationally recognised standard,” Mr Foote said.
Australian Food and Grocery Council Chief Executive Mr Dick Wells said the challenge for regulators is to look after consumer health and safety without preventing food industry innovation.
Looking at the future of regulation, Mr Wells summed up the industry perspective by saying the world is at a turning point.
“For many years we have had surplus food; now we have a nexus between certain key foods and the price of oil. We realistically could face food shortages in the next 10 years and have to ask whether the food regulatory system can function properly in such a climate.”
Peter Boyden, who has seen both sides of the regulatory debate, initially from within the food industry as a former managing director of Unilever and now as a FSANZ Board member, returned to Dr O’Brien’s point to remind delegates that politicians - influenced by their party and personal ideology - set policy and regulators like FSANZ create standards consistent with a policy framework where appropriate.
So if any lobby groups, whether they represent consumers or industry, want to influence policy in their own interest, they should target the politicians on the Ministerial Council before it reaches a policy decision and passes it on to FSANZ.
In Australia’s democracy healthy debate and attempts to wield influence will remain the currency that operates in the policy and standards area, Mr Boyden said.
“I hope that all of us, though, can continue to bring sense and realism to both policy and standards at the expense of excessive emotion and fervour,” he concluded.
We run, well, some of us, in the City to Surf
With the firing of the starter’s pistol, Team FSANZ (Kent Brown, David Waddell and Tony Singer – who survived the event to file this story) sprinted away – well shuffled really – from the start line of this year’s City to Surf in Sydney.
In glorious spring sunshine, 64,000 participants faced the challenge of 14 gruelling kilometres from Hyde Park in the centre of Sydney, through King’s Cross and picturesque Rose Bay, up the never ending Heartbreak Hill and finally to Bondi Beach.
Despite plans to meet at the start, finding fellow team members in the 10,000 competitors in the HSBC Group proved impossible. It turned out we had all been within 10 meters of each other.
With the start of the race a fierce competitive spirit took over and determination to win at all costs drove all other thoughts from our minds. Fortunately after two minutes common sense prevailed and we settled down to do our best whilst avoiding a massive coronary. Images of ambulances treating collapsed runners in previous years provided a useful reminder.
However, being overtaken by little 80-year-old ladies and the thought of one or more cool refreshing drinks at the end provided the incentive to pick up the pace. Eventually after several gruelling hours the ocean came into view and the final downhill run into Bondi began and went on, and on, and on and…
Having all made it across the finish line we did manage to meet up and compare results. It would not be fair to list how we fared other than to say that the times were close with as little as five seconds dividing two of the team. However, there were accusations of cheating levelled at another team member who was so keen to get to the drinks in the hospitality tent that he had actually run down the hill to Bondi!
Altogether it was a great day and hopefully next year Team FSANZ will be bigger and better.
Food safety in the fresh produce industry
FSANZ staff have recently been consulting extensively with stakeholders in preparation for the commencement of work on a Primary Production and Processing (PPP) Standard for fresh produce.
The 14th Australian HACCP Conference, held on 2-3 August 2007 at the Gold Coast, provided a valuable opportunity for FSANZ senior food scientist and microbiologist Dr Hong Jin to outline how we deveop the standard.
Dr Hong said outbreaks of human illness attributable to contaminated fresh produce have taken centre stage among foodborne incidents in recent years, particularly the large scale North American outbreaks involving spinach and lettuce in September and October last year.
The spinach outbreak spread across 26 states of the US and into Canada, while the lettuce outbreak was confined to three eastern US states. In both cases the contaminant wasE. coli0157:H7, which infected 276 people and killed three, generating media coverage literally around the world.
In the past 18 months Australia has had its share of outbreaks caused by contaminated fresh produce, particularly alfalfa sprouts infected with Salmonella orianenbergin Western Australia and Victoria, contaminated rockmelons along the eastern seaboard and paw paws in WA and Queensland.
These outbreaks have raised concerns about the safety of fresh produce, prompting FSANZ to accelerate its plans for a PPP standard for the industry and to begin preliminary work to prepare for the development of a standard.
We commissioned a series of reports including:
- ‘identification of microbiological hazards associated with plans and plant products’ by Food Science Australia;
- ‘identification of food safety systems in Australian primary production industries’ by Tasmanian Quality Assured inc.;
- ‘review of control measures currently applied to the production of seed sprouts, by the Information Strategy Committee Working Group on sprout safety.
Dr Hong said a big problem has been to identify the vast array of commodities that can be classified as ‘plants and plant products’ and the vast number of diverse growers. However,FSANZ has identified three main categories: horticultural produce (fruit, vegetables, herbs, nuts and edible fungi), fresh cuts of horticultural produce and seed sprouts.
Other speakers at the HACCP conference also talked about fresh produce.
Michelle Van Der Sander from Parilla Fresh spoke about recent foodborne illness outbreaks within the sprout industry, Professor Mark Tamplin from the USDA discussed the similarities between the fresh produce industries in Australia and the US, Bill Marler, a lawyer from the US, spoke about his experience suing companies for outbreaks relating to foodborne illness and a representative from SPC-Ardmona discussed the relative effectiveness of the multiple audits faced by most producers.
Dr Hong said the conference was particularly valuable for providing the opportunity for FSANZ to network and exchange ideas with domestic and international members of the food safety industry, in particular the fresh produce industry.
Inaugural FSANZ Prize awarded
Post graduate student Sara MacDonald has won the inaugural FSANZ Prize at the 2007 New Zealand Dietetic Conference in Christchurch. The FSANZ prize is awarded to the best research paper presented at the NZ Dietetic Association conference as part of a post-graduate qualification.
The recipient receives NZ$2500 and a certificate. The judges look for fresh, innovative and relevant research that is packaged into a high quality presentation. The award recognises the importance of the wider scientific and technical community in providing the solid scientific evidence which underpins our work at FSANZ.
Sara, a New Zealand dietitian from the Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, presented a research paper on Nutrition Recovery Response in Rowers. A former rower herself and now a mountain biker, Sara compared the metabolic response of commercially available beverages consumed during acute recovery from rowing training. Her findings suggest that high glycemic index (GI) beverages may be appropriate during acute recovery and low GI beverages may be more appropriate during the latter stages of recovery. Sara’s paper will be submitted to the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. She recently completed her MSc in Human Nutrition.
Co-author of Sara’s prize-winning paper was Dr Tracy Perry of the Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago.
Unfortunately, Sara could not attend the award ceremony at the end of the conference so on behalf of FSANZ senior nutritionist Carole Gibb presented her prize to Ien Helleman, a lecturer in sports nutrition at the University of Otago. Ien passed on Sara’s appreciation and thanks to FSANZ for supporting her research.
FSANZ’s acting Chief Executive Officer Dean Stockwell said: “FSANZ is very proud to present this new award which recognises excellence in post-graduate work and encourages research of the highest quality.”
Christian Thoma represented FSANZ as one of the three judges.
More than 300 dietitians and nutritionists attended the conference, which was held in early September. The first day featured as a pre-conference symposium for the 4th International Academy of Nutrition and Ageing, held in Adelaide. Besides nutrition issues for older people, other conference themes were sports nutrition, children’s health, food in industry and eating disorders.
On the final day of the conference FSANZ took part in the Market Day when delegates showed a great deal of interest in our consumer education materials and information, particularly the allergy cards.
A major event at the NZ Dietetic Association’s Annual General meeting was the signing of a reciprocal agreement between the Dietitians Association of Australia and the NZ Dietetians Board. This agreement allows New Zealand and Australian registered dietitians to practice in either country after ethical, legal and cultural training without the need to sit exams.
Dietitians greeted the news with great delight, hailing it as a major achievement that will remove barriers to working “across the ditch”.
Jan Milne, Executive director of the New Zealand Dietetic Association, said the commonality of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code and the Trans Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement were significant factors in helping all parties reach this agreement.
The FSANZ prize will be an annual fixture at the New Zealand Dietetic Conference and we look forward to supporting further fresh, innovative and relevant research next year.
Conference briefs
FSANZ staff have been busy attending conferences and meetings to share knowledge with scientists and colleagues from state and territory jurisdictions, farmers and other stakeholders.
Here’s a summary of some of the events we attended during August.
‘10th ASEAN Food Conference’ in Malaysia.
The ASEAN Food Conference is held biannually, and this year’s conference in Kuala Lumpur attracted some 750 participants from 38 countries . FSANZ was well represented with Deon Mahoney, Peter Abbott and Tracy Hambridge all presenting papers. The theme of the conference was Food for Mankind, with 135 papers and 350 posters addressing topics such as enhancing food safety through risk assessment, food processing and engineering, standards and regulations, halal food and functional food. FSANZ staff also presented a conference workshop on risk assessment.
‘Keep It Real’ conference in Hobart.
This was a joint environmental management and quality assurance conference presented by Tasmanian Quality Assured Inc. One of the main topics was the number of food quality and safety management systems, which led to a discussion that one system does not fit all. Indeed, there are about 800 different systems and many primary producers feel confused when faced with so many options and not knowing which one to choose, especially when many of the systems are actually similar. Delegates agreed on the need to find matching equivalent systems and generally simplify the whole process. Other topics discussed included: strategies to make auditing more attractive to younger staff , biosecurity, traceability and foodborne illness outbreaks associated with fresh produce.
‘Egg Safety Summit’ in Sydney.
This meeting organised by the New South Wales Food Authority with support from FSANZ, was attended by about 100 delegates from a variety of egg-related backgrounds. Gerard Fitzsimmons from OzFoodNet provided an overview of foodborne illness and noted an increase in egg-related outbreaks since 2006. Another session focussed on risk communication, communication with the media and via the media as well as the National Incident Response Protocol.
The summit also provided FSANZ with an opportunity to inform attendees on progress with the Primary Production and Processing Standard for Eggs and Egg Products. Further discussion on the development of this standard will take place at the next meeting of the Standards Development Committee. The Committee is comprised of nominated members
from relevant industry groups, including egg producers, State and Territory enforcement agencies and consumers.
‘Codex Stakeholder Meeting’ in Sydney'.
This meeting was especially well suited for those new to Codex, beginning as it did with an introduction to the structure and operations of Codex. The main topics discussed during the meeting included reviewing work from the previous year, emerging issues (new work proposals), keeping Codex standards science-based and what is involved in proposing new work. Case studies were also presented to demonstrate Codex in action.
‘Dairy Science World Series – turning barriers into benefits – the science behind dairy regulation’ in Melbourne.
The Dairy Industry Association of Australia organised this conference to focus on an area at the heart of all dairy business – food safety, how we arrive at it and how we use it to protect our industry and our customers. Speakers from FSANZ included acting Risk Assessment Branch Manager Mr Deon Mahoney, who spoke on ‘Establishing the equivalence of new technologies’, and Chief Scientist Dr Paul Brent, with a paper on ‘Developing evidence-based food standards- successes and challenges’. The aim of the conference was to explain why dairy food regulation has developed in the way it has and where it is heading. Delegates investigated the background to the hazards associated with the production, processing and distribution of milk and milk products.
FSANZ and APVMA deliver streamlined food standards for chemical residues
Following changes to national laws, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) will work more closely together to speed up the setting of safe limits for chemical residues in foods.
This will reduce the time interval between the APVMA approving the use of a new chemical product and FSANZ including the relevant maximum residue limit (MRL) in the Food Standards Code (the Code).
MRLs are regulatory limits for residues of agricultural and veterinary chemicals in foods and reflect good agricultural practice.
The APVMA is responsible for approving and registering new agricultural and veterinary chemicals and setting MRLs for them and it is the role of FSANZ to consider incorporating those MRLs into the Code so that food legally treated with chemicals can be legally sold.
While both FSANZ and the APVMA have always liaised closely over MRLs, amendments to the FSANZ Act and the APVMA’s Agvet Code Act will improve the process. The FSANZ Act stipulates how FSANZ develops food standards and the Agvet Code Act sets the requirements by which the APVMA registers and/or approves chemical products.
Before the APVMA notifies stakeholders about a new chemical it will advise FSANZ what it thinks the MRLs for that product should be. FSANZ will assess the MRLs through a new streamlined MRL Proposal process and then consult in parallel with the APVMA.
From the time these new arrangements took effect on 1 October, 2007, FSANZ will consider MRL changes notified by the APVMA every month, rather than every three months as before. There will still be a time period between when a new chemical is registered and its relevant MRLs are included in the Code to allow time for full public consultation on all MRLs and for the Ministerial Council to review the MRLs.
Novel Foods Standard under review
FSANZ is reviewing the Novel Foods Standard through Proposal P291, and the Final Assessment Report was considered and approved by the FSANZ Board in September 2007.
As part of the review, we propose amending the current process for considering novel foods and potential novel foods and articulating a clearer definition of what constitutes a novel food.
Novel foods and novel food ingredients are regulated by Standard 1.5.1 – Novel Foods – of the Food Standards Code (the Code).
But what exactly are they? Novel foods are a subset of ‘non-traditional’ foods. Non-traditional foods are foods that do not have a history of significant human consumption by the broad community in Australia or New Zealand. Novel foods are non-traditional foods that have features or characteristics that raise possible safety concerns.
Standard 1.5.1 prohibits the sale of novel foods unless they are listed in the standard. This means that anyone wanting to produce or market any food or food ingredient considered to be novel must make an application to FSANZ to amend the Novel Foods standard. We must then assess whether it is safe for human consumption. If the application is successful, we will include the novel food or novel food ingredient in the standard, thus allowing it to be sold in Australia and New Zealand.
We receive numerous enquiries asking whether certain foods or food ingredients might be considered novel or not. We have an Advisory Committee on Novel Foods (ACNF) that meets to consider such enquiries and to provide a view to the General Manager Food Standards, which is published on the FSANZ website. You can see the views of the ACNF on the following link: http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodmatters/novelfoods/regulationofnovelfoo3024.cfm .
If you are unsure whether a food or ingredient may be novel, please contact FSANZ and ask. We have developed a new questionnaire for such inquiries and it would be a great help if you complete it and include it with your inquiry. This is important because your answers will help us provide you with a better informed response. It is available on the FSANZ website
Canadian specialist adds weight to our Microbiological Risk Assessment workshop
Internationally renowned expert on risk assessment Greg Paoli (Decisionalysis Risk Consulting (Canada) provided the Risk Assessment Microbiology Section (RAMS) with valuable information on quantitative microbiological modelling at a special workshop in May. Staff from the Food Safety and Food Composition, Evaluation and Modelling Sections also attended the workshop.
Mr Paoli delivered presentations ranging from qualitative risk assessment approaches through to quantitative modelling and all points in between. Interestingly, he warned about using ‘empty terminology’ in risk assessment, saying the main problem with validity is the use of terminology. Words we think we know the meaning of, such as ‘sound’ science, transparency, rational and logical, are very subjective.
Participants discussed a wide variety of topics, including the utility of risk assessments, the role of risk managers in risk assessment and factors to be considered when deciding between qualitative and quantitative approaches. They reviewed the importance of access to adequate data, evidence-based assumptions and scenarios in the selection of modelling approaches.
Overall, this was a highly successful workshop, providing thought provoking insight into the different approaches to microbiological risk assessment. RAMS staff agreed they derived considerable benefit in terms of both risk assessment and management, and suggested future workshops should be conducted