ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION Increased awareness of the effects of food hazards on human health and the increasing importance and rapid growth of world trade have prompted regulatory officials and international organizations to consider new and improved strategies to reduce the health risks associated with pathogenic microorganisms in foods. One strategy is the use of microbial risk assessment (MRA) to guide food safety decision making. MRA is a systematic and scientifically based approach for assessing the likelihood of exposure and subsequent impact of a pathogen on human health. MRA has the potential, both nationally and internationally, to become a powerful public health tool for improving global food safety because it allows risk managers to identify the most effective strategies to control hazards to prevent foodborne illness. It is a relatively new scientific discipline that presents many challenges. These challenges are due, in part, to the dynamic nature (e.g., growth, decline, antimicrobial resistance) of microbiological pathogens as they move through the food supply from the farm to the table. As this emerging discipline continues to develop, it will further bridge traditional food safety techniques (e.g., microbiological testing) with other public health activities such as foodborne surveillance and outbreak investigations.
