17. The Chairperson noted that the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on the Application of Risk Management to Food Safety Matters was held at the FAO Headquarters from 28-31 January 1997. The Consultation considered the application of risk management to food safety matters. It considered risks arising from both chemical and biological agents, and developed and reconfirmed definitions of a number of key terms, identified elements of risk management and developed general principles of food safety risk management.
18. The Consultation stressed the need for interaction between risk assessment and risk management while keeping these two elements of the risk analysis process structurally separate. It was necessary for risk managers, such as those represented by the CCPR, to pose clear and concise questions to risk assessors in order to allow risk assessors to respond effectively to their needs.