WHO , in collaboration with the Institute for Hygiene and Food Safety of the Federal Dairy Research Center, Germany and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, will hold a joint consultation to obtain advice on the interaction between assessors and managers necessary to provide a clear and comprehensive scope of work and develop strategies for the microbiological reduction of risk from food in international trade.
Risk analysis is well established for chemical hazards.
WHO and FAO are currently in the process of extending the experience and expertise developed from chemical to microbiological hazards. The functional separation of risk assessment from risk management is an essential feature of the risk analysis paradigm. This separation allows scientists to leave policy and political considerations to risk managers and focus on a consensus around science. One the other hand separating the scientific component from the process of risk management often results in difficulties in communication. Clear communication between assessors and managers within the Codex is particularly important because of the schedule and the long delay that currently exists between meetings of Codex and scientific committees.