Food Safety Plan :: Risk
DATASHEET
Food Safety Plan – Data Series
What is Risk?
WHO – “Risk profiling is the process of describing a food safety problem and its
context, in order to identify those elements of the hazard or risk relevant to various
risk management decisions. The risk profile would include identifying aspects of
hazards relevant to prioritising and setting the risk assessment policy and aspects
of the risk relevant to the choice of safety standards and management options”
CODEX – “Risk: A function of the probability of an adverse health effect and the
severity of that effect, consequential to a hazard(s) in food.”
BRCGS
“Risk: The likelihood of occurrence of harm from a hazard. “
“Risk Analysis: A process consisting of three components: risk assessment, risk
management and risk communication.”
“Risk Assessment: The identification, evaluation and estimation of the levels of risk
involved in a process to determine an appropriate control process.”
How do we incorporate risk into our Food Safety Plan?
Risk is one of the most widely used risk-based tools for developing food safety
management programs. It is a fundamental aspect of the food safety plan and is an
essential component of the hazard analysis.
The food safety team should gather information and data to help determine the risk
associated with each hazard that has been identified at various stages of the
operation. The potential significance of the risk of each hazard can be done by
considering the likelihood of occurrence and severity. This will help determine the
overall risk of the potential hazard and in turn help to determine if specific controls
need to be put in place.
The estimate of the risk of a hazard occurring is based upon a combination of
experience, epidemiological data, and information in the technical literature.
Severity is the degree of seriousness of the consequences of a hazard if the hazard
is not controlled.
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Food Safety Plan :: Risk
Some possible categories of risk for the severity of a hazard are outlined below.
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High (Intolerable Risk) - examples include illnesses caused by Clostridium botulinum, Salmonella
typhi, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio vulnificus,
paralytic shellfish poisoning, amnesic shellfish poisoning.
Medium (Undesirable Risk) - examples include illnesses caused by Brucella spp., Campylobacter
spp. Salmonella spp., Shigella spp. Streptococcus type A, Yersinia entercolitica, Hepatitis A virus,
Mycotoxins, Ciguatera toxin.
Low (Acceptable or Tolerable Risk) - examples include illnesses caused by Norwalk virus, most
parasites, histamine-like substances, and most heavy metals that cause mild acute illnesses.
Probability (P)
Sample Risk Assessment Model
References
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Lawley, R., 2018. The Food Safety Hazard Guidebook. Royal Society of Chemistry
ao.org. 2021. Definitions for the Purposes of the Codex Alimentarius. [online] Available at:
http://www.fao.org/3/Y2200E/y2200e07.htm#:~:text=Risk%3A%20A%20function%20of%20the,risk%20management%20and%20risk%20communication. [Accessed 28 March 2023]
Food Safety Tech StaffInnovative Publishing Company, r., 2021. Seven Threats to the Food Supply Chain | FoodSafetyTech. [online] FoodSafetyTech. Available at:
https://foodsafetytech.com/news_article/seven-threats-to-the-food-supply-chain/ [Accessed 28 March 2023]
www.fao.org. 2022. No page title. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.fao.org/3/w4982e/w4982e.pdf [Accessed 28 March 2023]
2022. BRCGS: Food Safety Standard Issue 9. 1st ed. London: BRCGS
Safefood360° Whitepaper 2014 Developing a HACCP Plan
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Disclaimer: This datasheet is not legal advice and should be considered educational in nature. You may implement this advice at your own risk