scholarly journals FAO/WHO Joint Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA): Twenty Years of International Microbiological Risk Assessment

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1873
Author(s):  
Jeffrey T. LeJeune ◽  
Kang Zhou ◽  
Christine Kopko ◽  
Haruka Igarashi
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
International Standards ◽  
World Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Microbial Risk Assessment ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Microbial Risk ◽  
Safety Research ◽  
Health Organization

Since the late 1990s, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO) has convened expert meetings and consultations to address the microbiological risk assessment (MRA). These meetings are held to provide scientific advice in response to requests for from Codex Alimentarius, the international food standard-setting body. Individuals participate in the FAO/WHO joint expert meetings on the microbiological risk assessment (JEMRA) in their personal capacity, as technical experts, yet bring diverse regional and national perspectives that contribute to practical applications, particularly for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Over 370 experts from around the globe have contributed to the meeting outcomes that have been published in nearly 40 monographs in the FAO/WHO microbial risk assessment (MRA) series, addressing particular food commodities with microbial hazard(s) combinations or a methodological aspect of microbial risk assessment. FAO/WHO MRA series inform Codex decision-making for the development of international standards for safe food and faire trade in food products; are consulted by risk managers such as food safety authorities and food business operators to make science-based decisions; and are used by academics to advance food safety research and educate the next generation of food safety professionals.

scholarly journals Absence of virological and epidemiological evidence that SARS-CoV-2 poses COVID-19 risks from environmental fecal waste, wastewater and water exposures

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Sobsey
Keyword(s):  
Health Effects ◽  
Water Environment ◽  
World Health ◽  
Personal Contact ◽  
Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment ◽  
Epidemiological Evidence ◽  
Microbial Risk Assessment ◽  
Infected People ◽  
Microbial Risk ◽  
Health Organization

Abstract This review considers evidence for infectious severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) presence and COVID-19 infection and illness resulting from exposure to environmental fecal wastes and waters. There is no documented evidence that (1) infectious, replication-capable SARS-CoV-2 is present in environmental fecal wastes, wastewater or water, and (2) well-documented epidemiological evidence of COVID-19 infection, illness or death has never been reported for these exposure media. COVID-19 is transmitted mainly by direct personal contact and respiratory secretions as airborne droplets and aerosols, and less so by respiratory-secreted fomites via contact (touch) exposures. While SARS-CoV-2 often infects the gastrointestinal tract of infected people, its presence as infectious, replication-capable virus in environmental fecal wastes and waters has never been documented. There is only rare and unquantified evidence of infectious, replication-capable SARS-CoV-2 in recently shed feces of COVID-19 hospital patients. The human infectivity dose–response relationship of SARS-CoV-2 is unknown, thereby making it impossible to estimate evidence-based quantitative health effects assessments by quantitative microbial risk assessment methods requiring both known exposure assessment and health effects assessment data. The World Health Organization, Water Environment Federation, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others do not consider environmental fecal wastes and waters as sources of exposure to infectious SARS-CoV-2 causing COVID-19 infection and illness.

scholarly journals How to Overcome Barriers for Wastewater Agricultural Reuse in Sicily (Italy)?

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delia Ventura ◽  
Simona Consoli ◽  
Salvatore Barbagallo ◽  
Alessia Marzo ◽  
Daniela Vanella ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Reclaimed Water ◽  
World Health ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Microbial Risk Assessment ◽  
Microbial Risk ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Health Organization

This study reports an up-to-date summary of the principal barriers still limiting reclaimed water use for agriculture in Italy, and particularly in Sicily. Moreover, it provides a geographic informative system (GIS)-based procedure for evaluating the potential treated wastewater (TW) reuse in the Sicilian region as a decision support system for its management. The survey, based on possible economic, morphologic, and design solutions, evidenced a feasible integration of several wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with irrigation areas, allowing the water availability enhancement. Overall, the potential volume of TW by WWTPs (connected to irrigation districts) is 163 × 106 m3 year−1, while the water deficit is 66 × 106 m3 year−1. The feasibility of TW reuse in Sicily was also analysed at the light of the World Health Organization microbial risk assessment. Escherichia coli (E. coli) analyses mostly accomplished these guidelines while conflicting with the restrictive Italian standards. Despite several limiting factors (restrictive legislations, high distance and unfavourable slope between WWTPs and irrigable areas, high monitoring and distribution costs) still hamper the exploitation of reclaimed water use in Sicilian agriculture, some solutions were identified to implement this practice.

scholarly journals Review of Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment in Poultry Meat: The Central Position of Consumer Behavior

Foods ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1661
Author(s):  
Tahreem Khalid ◽  
Ammar Hdaifeh ◽  
Michel Federighi ◽  
Enda Cummins ◽  
Géraldine Boué ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Poultry Meat ◽  
Animal Origin ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Microbial Risk Assessment ◽  
Microbial Risk

Food of animal origin, especially meat products, represent the main vehicle of foodborne pathogens and so are implicated in foodborne outbreaks. Poultry meat is a widely consumed food in various forms, but it is also a reservoir of thermotolerant Campylobacter and Salmonella bacterial species. To assess human health risks associated with pathogenic bacteria in poultry meat, the use of quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) has increased over the years as it is recognized to address complex food safety issues and is recommended by health authorities. The present project reviewed poultry meat QMRA, identified key steps of the farm-to-fork chain with significant impacts on food safety, highlighted current knowledge gaps, and provided risk mitigation advices. A PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses)-based systematic analysis was carried out and enabled the collection of 4056 studies including 43 QMRA kept for analysis after screening. The latter emphasized Campylobacter spp. and Salmonella spp. contaminations during the consumer stage as the main concern. The role of consumer handling on cross-contamination and undercooking events were of major concern. Thus, proper hygiene and safety practices by consumers have been suggested as the main intervention and would need to be followed with regular surveys to assess behavior changes and reduce knowledge gaps.

Microbial risk assessment of drinking water to set health-based performance targets to improve water quality and treatment plant operations

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 495-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Shea ◽  
J. Poon ◽  
S. Williamson
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
World Health ◽  
Recycled Water ◽  
Microbial Risk Assessment ◽  
Microbial Risk

Western Water (WW) provides water, recycled water and wastewater services to almost 150,000 people whilst continuously striving to improve processes to provide its customers with safe, cost effective and reliable drinking water, recycled water and treatment services. Under this framework of continuous improvement, WW has reviewed the effectiveness of its drinking water treatment systems using quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) techniques described by the World Health Organization (WHO). The microbial-related water quality targets in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines Paper 6 National Water Quality Management Strategy (2011) National Health and Medical Research Council, National Resource Management Ministerial Council, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra are simply ‘to ensure that drinking water is free of microorganisms that can cause disease’. Whereas, the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling adopted the WHO QMRA approach for setting health-based microbial targets to manage health risk to customers. WW has investigated adopting the AGWR methodology for drinking water risk management, and invested in the development of a convenient and practical QMRA tool for rapid assessment and reporting of the microbial safety of its drinking water systems. This action resulted in the identification of several drinking water system performance deficiencies, and recommendations for system improvements and optimization to improve health risk management to customers.

Microbial Risk Assessment as a Tool for Guiding Food Safety

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janell Kause ◽  
Steve Anderson ◽  
Kaye Wachsmuth ◽  
Carol Maczka ◽  
Wayne Schlosser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Microbial Risk Assessment ◽  
Microbial Risk

scholarly journals A Systematic Review of Beef Meat Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment Models

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Tesson ◽  
Michel Federighi ◽  
Enda Cummins ◽  
Juliana de Oliveira Mota ◽  
Sandrine Guillou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment ◽  
Salmonella Spp ◽  
Microbial Risk Assessment ◽  
Microbial Risk ◽  
Beef Meat ◽  
Risk Assessment Models ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Meta Analyses

Each year in Europe, meat is associated with 2.3 million foodborne illnesses, with a high contribution from beef meat. Many of these illnesses are attributed to pathogenic bacterial contamination and inadequate operations leading to growth and/or insufficient inactivation occurring along the whole farm-to-fork chain. To ensure consumer health, decision-making processes in food safety rely on Quantitative Microbiological Risk Assessment (QMRA) with many applications in recent decades. The present study aims to conduct a critical analysis of beef QMRAs and to identify future challenges. A systematic approach, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, was used to collate beef QMRA models, identify steps of the farm-to-fork chain considered, and analyze inputs and outputs included as well as modelling methods. A total of 2343 articles were collected and 67 were selected. These studies focused mainly on western countries and considered Escherichia coli (EHEC) and Salmonella spp. pathogens. Future challenges were identified and included the need of whole-chain assessments, centralization of data collection processes, and improvement of model interoperability through harmonization. The present analysis can serve as a source of data and information to inform QMRA framework for beef meat and will help the scientific community and food safety authorities to identify specific monitoring and research needs.

Hazards in anaesthetic practice: body systems and occupational hazards

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan F. Merry ◽  
Simon J. Mitchell ◽  
Jonathan G. Hardman
Keyword(s):  
Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction ◽  
International Standards ◽  
High Rate ◽  
World Health ◽  
World Federation ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Rate Of Failure

“Can’t intubate, can’t oxygenate” crises and aspiration of gastric contents are important hazards in anaesthesia, and may result in the death of relatively young and healthy patients. Airway difficulties may manifest at the end of anaesthesia as well as at induction and are commoner in emergency departments and intensive care settings than during anaesthesia in operating rooms. Elements of poor management characterize the majority of airway complications. Emergency cricothyroidotomy performed by anaesthetists is associated with a high rate of failure. Other important hazards associated with anaesthesia may involve excessive or inadequate levels of oxygen or carbon dioxide in the blood, hypertension or hypotension, hypothermia or hyperthermia (including malignant hyperpyrexia), hypovolaemia, embolism of gas or thrombus, awareness, infection, and injury to the peripheral or central nervous system, or the eyes. Stroke and postoperative cognitive dysfunction may be particularly devastating for patients. These hazards are typically increased in low- and middle-income countries. The World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists and the World Health Organization have endorsed international standards for a safe practice of anaesthesia, which are structured to reflect different levels of resource. The Lifebox Foundation seeks to improve the safety of surgery and anaesthesia in resource-constrained areas, notably by closing the substantial global gap in pulse oximetry. Several hazards are integral to the occupation of anaesthesia, including certain infections, increased rates of suicide, and medico-legal risks. In the end, the best way to mitigate these risks is through focusing on the safety of our patients.

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