The process of developing exposure assessment guidelines was initiated at a workshop held in Seattle, Washington, United States of America, from 5 to 9 December 2001. The workshop participants were scientists currently involved in exposure assessment of foodborne microbiological hazard in humans or animals. The document drafted during this workshop was subsequently reviewed by the workshop participants, and a revised draft prepared. This was then reviewed by another group of external peer reviewers. The guidelines were finalized taking into account all comments received. These guidelines are part of a series of guidelines on microbiological risk assessment being prepared by FAO and WHO. Guidelines on Hazard Characterization for Pathogens in Food and Water have already been published as number 3 of...

Vibrio parahaemolyticus are common causes of diarrhoeal disease worldwide. These marine micro-organisms, native in estuarine waters globally, concentrate in the gut of filter-feeding molluscan shellfish, such as oysters, clams and mussels. Raw and undercooked seafood, including finfish, represent the principal vehicle of transmission to humans. This volume considers the applicability of an assessment of the public health impact of raw oyster consumption, developed in one country, to assess the public health risk associated with the consumption of raw oysters harvested in other countries where different growing and harvesting scenarios might exist. The approach is also applied to bloody clams and finfish to establish if such a risk assessment can also be adapted to other types of shellfish and finfish. This...

The Expert Meeting was jointly organized by the Animal Production and Health Division and the Nutrition and Consumer Protection Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Department of Food Safety, Zoonoses and Foodborne Diseases of the World Health Organization (WHO), to review current knowledge on animal feed and its impact on food safety and international food and feed trade, and to provide orientation advice on this matter to their Members and to international organizations. The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) kindly joined this effort and was an important resource.