Ensuring food safety: microbiological risk assessment strategies

Abstract

Food safety is a critical global priority, as foodborne diseases continue to pose significant public health challenges. Ensuring food safety requires robust food hygiene practices, including effective hazard management strategies. A key tool for managing microbial risks is microbial risk assessment (MRA), which involves hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment, and risk characterization. Various MRA approaches — qualitative, semiquantitative, and quantitative — are employed depending on available data and complexity. Predictive microbiology, utilizing mathematical models, plays a vital role in simulating microbial behavior under different food conditions, enhancing risk predictions. Advances in molecular technologies, such as multi-omics and metagenomics, alongside rapid detection methods, offer new insights into microbial behavior and improve detection accuracy. Risk ranking tools enable targeted interventions by comparing microbial hazards across different food-pathogen scenarios. Integrating these strategies will improve food safety, reduce the burden of foodborne illnesses, and enhance public health globally.