9. Recommendations

The consultation recommended that FAO and WHO should:

• Continue the ongoing work on developing guidelines for hazard characterization;

• Initiate a similar process for developing guidelines for exposure assessment;

• Continue to support the technical development of the hazard characterization and exposure assessment for the three pathogen-commodity combinations described in this report and identified by the CCFH as important candidates for risk assessment;

• Facilitate the acquisition of data for hazard characterization and exposure assessment for identified food safety priorities to the greatest extent possible;

• Promote the collection of consumption data at the national level. These requirements include population variability, portion size and frequency of consumption;

• Promote acquisition of model input data from different regions of the world in order to maximize the applicability of existing exposure models;

• Promote the establishment of regional centres for collection of information on disease incidence on a global scale so as to enhance the validation of risk assessment models;

• Develop a framework document for guiding the establishment of repositories for food safety data critical for effective risk assessment;

• Facilitate direct technical cooperation between developed and developing countries so that they achieve the technical capability required to do microbiological risk assessment. This support should take into consideration the local situation in order for the result to be sustainable.

• Explore ways to further evaluate the importance of ^[3]food saving systems that have recently been recognized as useful as a means of obtaining quantitative data in the case of outbreaks.

In addition the consultation recommended that:

• Any requests by risk managers for the development of hazard characterization or exposure assessment should include a clear description of purpose and scope.

• Reporting of prevalence and concentration of specified hazards at different steps of the full exposure pathway should be encouraged in all regions of the world.

• FAO and WHO are encouraged to assist developing countries in the preparation of project proposals on microbiological risk assessment activities for presentation to potential donors.