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FOOD SAFETY OBJECTIVES
Background
The Codex Committee for
General Principles (CCGP) at its 15th Session (2000) considered the general aspects
of the development and application of food safety objectives, following discussions
at the 7th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and
Certification Systems (CCFICS) (1999) and 45th Session of the Executive Committee.
CCFICS had requested approval of the Commission to undertake the elaboration of
Guidelines for the Judgement of Equivalence of Sanitary Measures associated with
Food Inspection and Certification System. The proposal included consideration
of the concept of Food Safety Objectives.
The CCGP, at its 15th Session,
discussed whether there was a need to define 'Food safety objectives' and was of
the opinion that the concept was technical in nature and it was premature to generalize
the concept with a specific definition. It agreed that the concept could be further
developed by other relevant Committees in order to identify how it could be applied
to specific food safety issues, and that the Committee would continue to oversee
the consistency in definition and application of the concept.
The Codex Committee for
Food Hygiene initiated work on Proposed Draft Guidelines for Microbiological Risk
Assessment at its 31st Session (1998) and introduced and discussed the concept of
Food Safety Objectives. It was advanced to Step 3 for comments at the 32nd Session
(1999) and a restructured and revised draft was placed at the 33rd Session (1999)
which discussed, among other issues, 'Food Safety Objectives (FSOs), ' changed to
'Microbiological Food Safety Objectives (MFSOs)'. The draft was returned to Step
3 for revision by the drafting group.
At the 34th Session of CCFH
(2000) a revised draft was discussed. The concept of Food Safety Objectives was
supported by the Committee and the importance of clearly defining the term, so that
it was understandable and could be used in a transparent manner, was noted.
Food Safety Objective-
Salient Features identified by CCFH
A Food Safety Objective
(FSO) or a Micro biological Food Safety Objective (MFSO) can be a useful tool in
[microbiological] risk management.
The function of a FSO is
to express the level of a hazard in a food that is tolerable in relation to an appropriate
level of consumer protection. This is reflected in the following working definition:
A FSO is a statement
based on a risk analysis process, which expresses the level of a hazard in a food
that is tolerable in relation to an appropriate level of protection.
An alternate definition
proposed by the International Commission for Microbiological Specifications in Foods
but not yet accepted is:
The maximum frequency
and/or concentration of a [microbiological] hazard in a food at the time of consumption
that provides the appropriate level of health protection [(ALOP)].
When justified by the risk
assessment, the FSO should express the level of the hazard as its maximum tolerable
frequency and/or concentration. The FSO must be technically achievable, practicable
and quantifiable. Whilst decisions on acceptable levels of risk should be determined
primarily by human health considerations, and arbitrary or unjustified differences
in the risk levels should be avoided. Consideration of other factors (e.g. economic
costs, benefits, technical feasibility, and societal preferences) may be appropriate
in some risk management contexts, particularly in the determination of measures
to be taken. These considerations should not be arbitrary and should be made explicit.
FSOs should contain three
components:
-
food of concern,
-
hazard of concern and
-
the appropriate level of
consumer protection.
The statement of appropriate
level of sanitary protection in the WTO SPS Agreement is "The level of protection
deemed appropriate by the Member establishing a sanitary measure to protect human
health.
NOTE - Many Members otherwise refer to this concept as the acceptable level of risk."
The appropriate level of
consumer protection is a reflection of a particular country's public health goals
relative to the application of sanitary measures.
For foods in international
commerce, it represents a consensus of what participating countries or governments
are willing to tolerate in relation to their food supplies.
Once a consensus has been
reached on what is considered appropriate, it should be incorporated into an FSO
for communication to all affected parties. Industry and regulatory authorities should
then adjust their control and inspection systems to meet the FSO.
FSOs are food safety management
tools, which can provide a number of functions. A few examples are:
-
FSOs provide a reference
for the overall design of good hygienic practices and HACCP based food control systems;
-
FSOs provide a target for
the validation of sanitary measures for segments of food production systems, or
for food production systems in their entirety;
-
FSOs may form the basis
for derivation of performance and hazard criteria for steps in a food production
system.
Because significant differences
in the occurrence of food borne pathogens can be found between different countries
regions, FSOs in general and more specifically sampling plans, criteria etc, should
not be considered universally common but should take into account national and regional
situations.
Primary users of FSOs
are governments and the food industry.
-
By governments to:
communicate the expected
level of food safety to the food industry and the consumers.
- By the food industry
to:
show that their products
meet the established tolerable level of risk for the specified hazard.
At the international level, FSOs can be used in the determination of equivalence
by showing that different sets of control measures meet the same level of protection.
FSOs do not prescribe how
the expected level of food safety can be achieved, leaving the food industry to
select the appropriate technology including the establishment of process and performance
criteria.
Because significant differences
in the occurrence of food borne pathogens can be found between different countries
or regions FSOs in general, and more specially sampling plans, criteria, etc., should
not be universally common but should take into account national and regional situations.
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