Animal health and food safety risk assessments

Abstract

Animal health risk assessment is one of the key tasks of Veterinary Services. There are well-established protocols created by the World Organisation for Animal Health and Codex Alimentarius Commission for assessing risk. They cover terrestrial and aquatic animals and zoonotic infectious diseases, food safety, and the environment, taking into consideration the connections between them. Significant effort has been made in developing methods to estimate the probability, and consequences, of infectious disease incursion in diseasefree countries through legal or illegal trade or via the movements of insects and wildlife. Additional efforts have been made in the design of prevention strategies and contingency plans. Concerns about possible pandemics of avian influenza continue to be important motivation for monitoring viruses for selection of vaccine candidate strains. The recent COVID-19 pandemic was zoonotic in nature and caused extensive disruption throughout the world. Tools are becoming available for quantitative food safety risk assessments for bacteria, toxins, viruses, and antimicrobial resistance genes, including tools that allow simulations for the selection of effective control options. Applying participatory techniques facilitates the conduct of risk analysis in low-and middle-income countries. In internationally established frameworks, risk assessment is the first step towards elimination of important infectious diseases in endemic countries and it is an important contributor to the reduction of disease risks. Quantitative and qualitative socio-economic and behavioural studies have been developed to design risk management options that are acceptable and sustainable for actors throughout value chains.

The Development of a Risk Assessment Model for Inedible Rendering Plants in Canada: Identifying and Selecting Feed Safety-Related Factors

“…The development of the ERA-Renderer model is one of the very few tools covering both animal and human health risk factors, as conducted for the CFIA's ERA-Feed Mill model [14]. These risk assessment models offer an innovative evaluation of combined health risks in pre-harvest sectors of the food chain, which has previously been conducted through separate health risk assessment frameworks [84]. Risk assessment is known to be a complicated task, comprising hurdles such as lack of evidence, the need for high-level skills and knowledge of different disciplines, and the need for field studies testing the applicability of the approach and clear, effective communications to ensure proper risk management [84].…”

“…These risk assessment models offer an innovative evaluation of combined health risks in pre-harvest sectors of the food chain, which has previously been conducted through separate health risk assessment frameworks [84]. Risk assessment is known to be a complicated task, comprising hurdles such as lack of evidence, the need for high-level skills and knowledge of different disciplines, and the need for field studies testing the applicability of the approach and clear, effective communications to ensure proper risk management [84]. Such challenges are greater when integrating multiple health hazards related to feed safety concerns.…”

Document de politique générale : Aborder les risques liés à la sécurité sanitaire des aliments dans le secteur de la santé animale

“…Par exemple, l'OMSA soutient la capacité des Services vétérinaires dans la conduite d'inspections dans les élevages et dans les abattoirs. Intégrer l'approche « Une seule santé » à l'analyse de risques tout au long de la chaîne alimentaire garantit que les risques en matière de sécurité sanitaire des aliments puissent être identifiés et pris en compte [1,2].…”

“…Plus de 60% des agents pathogènes qui infectent les êtres humains sont zoonotiques et les causes les plus courantes des maladies provoquées par les aliments chez les êtres humains sont associées à la contamination d'aliments d'origine animale [2].…”

“…Les risques émanant d'aliments d'origine animale peuvent survenir à n'importe quel maillon de la chaîne alimentaire -de la fourche à la fourchette : lors de la phase de production animale, au cours de l'abattage, de la transformation, du stockage, de la distribution ou lors de la manipulation par le consommateur [2]. La stratégie « de la fourche à la fourchette » vise à rendre chaque étape de la chaîne alimentaire durable, équitable et saine (voir Figure 2) [16].…”