Risk Evaluation in Food Science

Never Club Hazards Together in Risk Assessment! Here’s Why Risk assessment in food safety is not just a routine exercise—it’s a scientific method to prioritize hazards based on real occurrence data and severity. But one of the biggest mistakes often made is clubbing multiple hazards into a single row under a broad category. This oversimplifies the assessment and leads to misleading risk ratings. Each Hazard is Unique! Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Combine Them 1. Different Occurrence Histories Each hazard has a distinct frequency of occurrence. For example: High TPC (Total Plate Count) exceeding limits might be a recurring issue. Salmonella contamination in the same food might be extremely rare. If you club them together, you might underestimate or overestimate the actual risk. 2. Different Severity Levels Consider a physical hazard: A thread in food might be unpleasant but not life-threatening (moderate severity). A metal fragment in food can cause serious injury (high severity). If you group them, the real risk rating gets distorted, leading to poor decision-making. 3. The True Risk Rating Comes from Individual Assessment Risk = Probability × Severity By assessing each hazard separately, you get a realistic and data-driven risk score. This allows: -> Better control measures targeting specific hazards. -> More accurate prioritization of significant risks. -> Stronger food safety culture with precise hazard identification. Example: The Right vs. Wrong Way to Assess Risks -> Incorrect Method: Clubbing all microbiological hazards together as “Microbiological Contamination” under one severity and probability score. -> Correct Method: Splitting into individual hazards, such as: 1. High TPC count 2. Salmonella contamination 3. Listeria growth Each has its own occurrence history, severity, and control measures. Final Takeaway: Accuracy is Everything in Risk Assessment Never generalize hazards—each hazard has a unique impact. Split them into individual categories to get the real risk rating. Data-driven assessments lead to stronger food safety measures.

If your food safety decisions rely on experience, this will change how you think. I wish I knew this early in my career. We like to believe every food safety decision we make is risk-based. That we weigh evidence, predict consequences, and choose the safest path. Reality: Most of us act on experience, gut feel, or compliance requirements. We approve changes, set limits, and release batches without ever mapping the actual risks. Because no one taught us how to do risk assessment in a way that fits real factory life. Once you learn the CODEX structure, it’s hard to unsee it. → Hazard Identification: What could go wrong? → Hazard Characterisation: How serious could it be? → Exposure Assessment: How often does it really happen? → Risk Characterisation: So, what’s the actual level of concern? These four steps turn uncertainty into safe clarity. They slow down the noise and make your decisions visible, defendable, and data-driven. Risk assessment is a thinking habit. The moment you use it to question a process change, supplier claim, or CCP trend, you stop reacting and start managing. That’s when food safety becomes a discipline. 💾 Save this post to find it later learned something new? Like 👍 | Comment ✍️ Please, enjoy (and 🔁 repost if you think it’ll help your people) :) for posts on Food Safety, Quality & Packaging Follow me → Muntasib Tehseen Hit the bell 🔔 to get notified of my posts.

FOOD HAZARDS-THE BIGGEST THREAT TO FOOD SAFETY A hazard is defined as a biological chemical or physical agent in a food or condition of the food with the potential to cause an adverse effect. Biological hazards are living organisms, including microbiological organisms, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Chemical hazards are in two categories: naturally occurring poisonous substances and chemicals or deleterious substances. The first group covers natural constituents examples being aflatoxins and shellfish poison. The other group covers poisonous chemicals or deleterious substances that are intentionally or unintentionally added to food at some point in the production chain, examples are pesticides and fungicides as well as lubricants and cleaners. A physical hazard is any material not normally found in food that causes illness or injury. Physical hazards include glass, wood, stone, bone, and metal. RISK ANALYSIS APPROACH Risk analysis plays an important role for a National Food Control System. It is a powerful tool to carry out science-based analysis and to achieve a sound and consistent solution to food safety problems. It provides information on hazards in food to be linked directly to data on the risk to human health and to improve the food safety decision-making process. How Risk can enter into the food chain? Production: Poor agriculture practices Processing: Improper handling and processing, storage, and packaging Transportation: Improper unhygienic transportation Retail: Poor hygiene and sanitation The FSS Act 2006 defines: Risk assessment is a scientifically based process consisting of four steps: Step 1 Hazard identification: “Could this food or anything in it be harmful?’ Risk assessors collect and review scientific data and identify biological or chemical hazards in food. Step 2 Hazard characterization: “What effects do the hazards cause?” Risk assessors evaluate scientific data to determine whether evidence is strong enough to demonstrate that a substance has the potential to cause harm and the nature of the harm. Step 3 Exposure assessment: “Who may be harmed and at what level of exposure may be harmful?’ Experts estimate how much of the food or ingredient consumers in general population groups (e.g. infants, children, adults) or sub-populations (e.g. vegetarians, vegans) are likely to be exposed to under real-life conditions where both dose and duration are considered. . Step 4: Risk characterization: “How likely is it that people will experience exposure at a level that can cause harm in real life?’ The level of exposure that can cause harm is compared to the actual level of exposure that someone would experience in real life. Risk management is the process of weighing policy alternatives in consultation with all interested parties, considering risk assessment and other factors relevant to the health protection of consumers, and if needed, selecting appropriate prevention and control measures

In an interconnected world, ensuring food safety and facilitating trade require a science-based approach that balances public health priorities with market access. #Codex Risk Analysis Framework is at the heart of this effort, offering a structured methodology to identify, assess, and manage risks across the food supply chain, by considering the three components: 1-Risk Assessment: Identifying and evaluating hazards based on scientific evidence to ensure decisions are data-driven. 2-Risk Management: Developing policies and measures to mitigate identified risks while enabling smooth trade operations. 3-Risk Communication: establishing an interactive transparent dialogue among stakeholders to build trust and ensure shared understanding of decisions. This framework is critical for regulators, policymakers, and the private sector to address challenges like evolving foodborne hazards, complex global supply chains, and trade barriers. It also supports in aligning with international standards, driving sustainable economic growth, and protecting public health. By integrating this approach into regulatory systems, we can create a harmonized, efficient, and future-ready trade environment. #foodtrade #foodsafety #riskmanagment