Analyses of public health problems and their association
to the food supply, have brought about the opinion
in many a government that our current food supply
is probably safer than ever before. Considering the
enormous volume of food that, on a global scale, is produced
and consumed safely, this apparent confidence
is warranted. Nevertheless, the statistics indicate that
even in industrialised countries one out of every three
people has a food-borne microbial illness event every
year (WHO, 2002). We recognise that food safety
is not an absolute. It is a continuum of more or less
safety.