Skip to main content
          Skip to FDA Search
          Skip to in this section menu
          Skip to footer links


U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government

					Here’s how you know
          			Dot gov**The .gov means it’s official.**Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.
							      SSL**The site is secure.** The **https://** ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely. 
			U.S. Food and Drug Administration
				
        Search
            Menu
							
						Search FDA
									
									Submit search 
		Featured
							Contact FDA
	                FDA Guidance Documents
	                Recalls, Market Withdrawals and Safety Alerts
	                Press Announcements
	                Warning Letters
	                Advisory Committees
	                En Español

					Products
            Food
							Drugs
							Medical Devices
							Radiation-Emitting Products
							Vaccines, Blood, and Biologics
							Animal and Veterinary
							Cosmetics
							Tobacco ProductsTopics
            About FDA
							Combination Products
							Regulatory Information
							Safety
							Emergency Preparedness
							International Programs
							News and Events
							Training and Continuing Education
							Inspections and Compliance
							Science and ResearchInformation For
            Consumers
	            Patients
	            Industry
	            Health Professionals
	            Federal, State and Local Officials 
 In this section:

                Buy, Store & Serve Safe Food

Buy, Store & Serve Safe Food

                        Food Facts for Consumers
          Food Safety in Your Kitchen
          5 Red Flags to Look For When Shopping for Meal Kits
          Everyday Food Safety for Young Adults Home
          Food
          Resources for You (Food)
          Consumers
          Buy, Store & Serve Safe Food
          Risk Assessment: What Is It, and What Does It Have to do with My Food?Buy, Store & Serve Safe Food Risk Assessment: What Is It, and What Does It Have to do with My Food?
  
  	
    Share
    Post
    Linkedin

    Email
    PrintRisk Assessment Consumer Food Facts
*You might have heard of some of the ways FDA works to prevent foodborne illness; for example, we inspect food facilities and write food-safety regulations and guidance for the food industry to follow. Another way we help prevent contamination and illness, that you might not have heard of, is called “risk assessment.”*

Print & Share (PDF: 551KB)

*In risk assessments, we figure out where the risks of contamination are, in the many steps it takes to get different kinds of foods from the farm to the table. Then we use scientific evidence and calculations to predict what the best ways are of preventing contamination by specific substances in specific foods.*

How it Works

Our scientists begin by gathering information about a contaminant – a bacterium or virus, for example – and about what conditions it needs to survive or grow in a given food. The scientists collect information about how that food is grown, transported, received, processed, stored, shipped, and sold, and about where in the process it’s likely to become contaminated. They also gather information about different ways of preventing the contamination.

The scientists enter the information they’ve gathered into mathematical models they’ve created, which “crunch the numbers.” The results are estimates of how much contamination or illness from a given substance could be prevented if specific actions were taken at various points in the supply chain for a given food.

How It Can Be Used

Risk assessments can help the food industry answer questions like “Would decreasing the temperature in the warehouse be likely to reduce the growth of this kind of bacterium in this kind of food? Or would reducing the temperature in the display case at the store be more effective?”

Risk assessments aren’t just useful to the food industry. They’re also valuable tools for policy makers, who have to write and pass laws that keep the food supply safe, and for researchers and others with an interest in food safety.

Most people would agree with us: it’s better to prevent food contamination and illness than it is to try to stop them after they’ve started. Risk assessments are one more way the FDA works toward that goal.

                                                                                  Content current as of:
      02/17/2022
              
              
Regulated Product(s)
		 Food & BeveragesTopic(s)
			  Risk AssessmentBuy, Store & Serve Safe Food

          
                        Food Facts for Consumers
          Food Safety in Your Kitchen
          5 Red Flags to Look For When Shopping for Meal Kits
          Everyday Food Safety for Young Adults
 
 Footer Links
    FDA Archive
          About FDA
          Accessibility
      Visitor Information
          Website Policies / Privacy
          No FEAR Act
          Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
      FOIA
          HHS.gov
          USA.gov
    Contact FDA
      Follow FDA on Facebook
      Follow FDA on X
      Follow FDA on Instagram
      Follow FDA on LinkedIn
      View FDA videos on YouTube
      Subscribe to FDA RSS feeds
    FDA Homepage
    Contact Number
      1-888-INFO-FDA (1-888-463-6332) Back toTop