Food risk analysis: A global and corporate perspective

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Food risk analysisA global and corporate
perspective
Safe Food Meeting , 3-4 March 2008

• Yasmine Motarjemi
• Corporate Food Safety Manager
• Nestlé, Vevey

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Quality meeting consumer expectation
Nutritional needs
Pleasure and emotional experience
Convenient accessibility, transport, storage,
preparation and use
Safety nutritional quality
Cultural and traditional values
Attractive product colour, packaging
Animal welfare, environment, and other ethical
practices
Value-for-price
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Foodborne hazards

• Biological Hazards
• Bacteria Aeromonas, Bacillus cereus,
  Clostridium perfrigens, Clostridium botulinum,
  Campyloabcter spp, pathogenic E.coli, Listeria
  monocytogenes, Salmonella, Salmonella typhi and
  paratyphi Shigella spp, Staphylococcus aureus,
  Vibrio parahaemoyticus, Vibrio vulnificus)
• Viruses hepatitis A virus. norovirus
• Parasites trichinella, toxoplasma gondii,
  Cryptosporidium, helminths
• Chemicals
• Agrochemical e.g. antibiotics, pesticides...
• Environmental contaminants e.g. dioxin, heavy
  metals,...
• Naturally occurring toxins e.g. aflatoxin, marine
  toxins, plant toxciants
• Processing contaminants acrylamide, 3MCPD
• Packaging chemicals
• Diverse substances
• Accidental contamination with disinfectants and
  cleaning agents, lubricants
• Adulteration, e. g. use of unauthorised
  substances such as the dye Sudan.

• Physical hazards
• Metal, glass, etc
• Choking
• Prions
• Allergens
• Nuts, peanuts, milk, egg, fish, crustaceans,
  soya, gluten containing cereals
• Nutritional hazards
• Trans fatty acid, essential micronutrients

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Potential pigments for adulteration
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Complexity of the supply chain and/or food
operations

• Fragmentation and diversification of food supply
• Distance between supplier/customer
• Outsourcing
• Complexity in food production, food processing
  and manufacturing
• Primary production
• animal and plant diseases pressure,
• economic, environmental constraints (climtic or
  contamination)
• Manufacturing multitude of products with
• different recipes and processes
• labelling according to exporting market
• Shared production lines

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Complexity of the supply chain and/or of food
operations

• Sophistication of products
• Multitude of ingredients
• Ingredients with variable source
• Continuous changes
• Recipe
• Supplier
• Exporting market
• Production line
• Personnel
• Maintenance work in the factories
• Segregation of food-grade and non food-grade
  ingredients.

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Ethical and moral obligation

• As a global company we need to meet the same
  standard of food safety all over the world.

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Responsibilities in society

• Food is a also a means of subsistence.
• Activities related to food provides job
  opportunities and is a source of income for a
  considerable proportion of the population.
• Problems affecting the food supply can compromise
  the livelihood of many people and contribute
  further to poverty and underdevelopment.

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Perspective

• We are supportive of development of international
  food safety standards and global harmonisation of
  legislation, as far as applicable
• They are also a reference for global food safety
  standards and essential for us in order to be
  able to meet the same minimum food safety
  standard all over the world
• International standards must be science-based but
  must also take into account feasibility and other
  direct or indirect consequences, including costs
  for consumers, nutritional impacts and other
  health consequences
• Work of JECFA, JMPR, JEMRA and Codex are
  essential as they provide guidance on the
  assessment and management of hazards and are a
  trustworthy reference
• Work of EU and EFSA are equally important, in
  particular for European issues

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Risk analysis
Risk Assessment
Risk Management

• Hazard Identification
• Hazard Characterization
• Exposure Assessment
• Risk Characterization

• Preliminary activities
• Option Assessment
• Option Implementation
• Monitoring Review

Risk Communication Interactive exchange of
information and opinions concerning risks and
risk management options
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Possible sources/causes of bias
Risk Assessment
Risk Management

• Hazard Identification
• Hazard Characterization
• Exposure Assessment
• Risk Characterization

• Preliminary activities
• Option Assessment
• Option Implementation
• Monitoring Review

Risk Communication Interactive exchange of
information and opinions concerning risks and
risk management options

• Expertise of the scientists
• Design of the study and models used
• Assumptions
• Data used, or lack of data
• Interpretation of results
• To what extent uncertainties are expressed and
  communicated to RMs

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Possible sources of bias or weakness
Risk Assessment
Risk Management

• Hazard Identification
• Hazard Characterization
• Exposure Assessment
• Risk Characterization

• Preliminary activities
• Option Assessment
• Option Implementation
• Monitoring Review

• Consistent approach to risk ass. risk mgt.
• Consideration of feasibility in risk mgt
• Holistic approach to consideration of risks
• Consideration of risk and benefits in decision
  makings
• Are food safety standards established based on
  consideration long-term exposure equally relevant
  for crisis management purposes?

Risk Communication Interactive exchange of
information and opinions concerning risks and
risk management options
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• Need for risk communication even when there is no
  risk and in a timely manner.
• Consumers opinion to be considered through
  independent mechanism and after proper
  educational campaign.
• Communication between risk assessors and risk
  managers and risk managers and stakeholders
• Consequences of multiple source of communication?

Risk Assessment
Risk Management

• Hazard Identification
• Hazard Characterization
• Exposure Assessment
• Risk Characterization

• Preliminary activities
• Option Assessment
• Option Implementation
• Monitoring Review

Risk Communication Interactive exchange of
information and opinions concerning risks and
risk management options
Possible sources/causes of bias
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Food irradiation

• Consistently in risk analysis?
• If heat treatment was assessed for risks as done
  for irradiation, it would probably have not been
  approved
• Is risks-benefit really considered ?
• Is consumer opinion really based on informed
  choice or educated decision?

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Semicarbazide

• Initially, risk assessment considering risk of
  semicarbazide alone
• Later, during the process, consequences related
  to microbiological safety and nutrition were
  considered
• Risk management decision (legislation) even
  before results of further studies and risk
  assessment
• EFSA did communicate on the low risk of
  semicarbazide, and this helped crisis management
  to go smoothly

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ITX isopropylthioxanthone

• Many flaws in risk and crisis management by all
  parties
• Late risk assessment and risk communication
  (although some data avaiable)
• Disparate actions at European level
• No international risk assessment

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Process contaminants

• Setting limits (action values) for acrylamide
  without considering impact on
• Other process contaminants
• Nutritional benefits of the product

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Case of coumarin in cinnamon

• In 2007 standards for coumarin in cinnamon is
  being (re) considered
• Good communication between risk manager and
  stakeholders
• The farm-to-fork approach was not sufficient
  considered during the risk analysis i.e.
  exposure of consumers through home-prepared food
  or food in food service establishment was not
  considered.
• No risk management (risk communication) at this
  level
• Transparency unclear how some MS established
  their proposed limits,
• Initially, some of the proposed levels were
  unfeasible for the food industry
• Have we researched enough on the benefits of
  cinnamon to consider the risk-benefits?

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Cholera

• Trade restrictions as soon as a country declares
  cholera epidemic
• Trade restrictions even products which do not
  present substantial risk e.g. processed foods
• Countries reluctant to declare, cholera, an
  obligation under the IHR

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BSE

• 2000 trade restrictions on milk products in
  Latin America
• WHO based on scientific assessment had declared
  that milk is considered to be safe
• No scientific justification for trade restrictions

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Conclusions (1)

• As a global food company, we strongly support a
  decision-making process based on the application
  of risk analysis principles at the international
  level, or European level when the issue concerns
  the European Region.
• We need to strengthen international risk
  assessment, which is the backbone of
  international and national food safety standards,
  e.g. by supporting international risk assessment
  bodies such as JECFA, JMPR, JEMRA and EFSA
• We need to implement the risk analysis approach
  in a consistent manner, including a holistic
  approach to the consideration of all risks and
  benefits.
• In taking risk management decisions, we need to
  take into account risks as well as feasibility
  and consumer values.
• We should also prevent possible sources of bias

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Conclusions (2)

• We need governments to establish the procedure
  for consideration of consumer opinion in
  decision-making at the national level in an
  unbiased manner and based on an informed choice.
• In times of incidents, we need an opinion on the
  safety of products (risk assessment) by the
  competent authorities at national or
  international levels as well as a risk
  communication to the public, even when there is
  no concern.
• At the international level, some of the
  legitimate factors (e.g. consumer preference)
  should be addressed under the TBT Agreement, and
  not under the SPS Agreement.

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