Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections are a substantial health issue worldwide. Circa 2010, foodborne STEC caused > 1 million human illnesses, 128 deaths, and ~ 13,000 Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). Targeting interventions appropriately relies on identifying those strains of greatest risk to human health and determining the types of foods that cause STEC infections. There are hundreds of STEC serotypes; however, based on the evidence gathered during the review, the Expert Group concluded that the serotype of the STEC strain should not be considered a virulence criterion. All STEC strains with the same serotype should not beassumed to carry the same virulence genes and to pose the same risk, as many STEC virulence genes are mobile and...

International trade has been the main driving factor for the rapid growth of the bivalve mollusc production industry during the last six decades, growing from nearly one million tonnes in 1950 to 16.1 million tonnes in 2015. In recognition of the extensive trade of this commodity the Codex Alimentarius Commission has developed a Standard for Live and Raw Bivalve Molluscs as well as guidance in the Codex Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products on the steps needed to be taken at all stages of food chain in order to produce a product that meets the Codex Standard. However, to facilitate implementation of the Codex guidance, countries identified the need for more information on how to implement Codex guidance...

This volume of FAO JECFA monographs contains residue evaluation of certain veterinary drugs prepared at the 85th Meeting of the Joint FAO/ WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), held in Geneva on 17– 26 October 2017. This was the twenty-fifth JECFA meeting specifically convened to consider residues of veterinary drugs in food. The Committee elaborated principles for evaluating the safety of residues of veterinary drugs in food, for establishing acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) and acute reference doses (ARfDs) and for recommending maximum residue limits (MRLs) for such residues when the drugs under consideration are administered to food-producing animals in accordance with good practice in the use of veterinary drugs (GVP). Furthermore, the committee evaluated the safety of residues of...

This document contains food additive specification monographs, analytical methods, and other information prepared at the eighty-sixth meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), which was held in Rome, 12–21 June 2018. The specification monographs provide information on the identity and purity of food additives used directly in foods or in food production. The main three objectives of these specifications are to identify the food additive that has been subjected to testing for safety, to ensure that the additives are of the quality required for use in food or in processing and to reflect and encourage good manufacturing practice. This publication and other documents produced by JECFA contain information that is useful to all those who work with...