Knowledge from the MRA study, characteristics and
capabilities of the supply chains affected, and ambitions
for public health protection are all considered when an
FSO is derived from an ALOP. In this way, the FSO
reflects the stringency that governmental food safety
control deems necessary for operational food safety
management to implement. In this respect, the FSO
value is an important communication tool for the overall
management of the chain as it articulates the
expected level of control on hazard levels in food chains
to deliver a product considered safe. It is a concept that
bridges from a populations generic requirements to
specific operational measures, and as such should be
accepted as an integral part of food chain management
(Fig. 2). To use the FSO as an overall target at the
end of a food chain leaves flexibility to individual food
chains in the way this target is achieved. It acknowledges
that food chains can be very different, but nevertheless
should comply with a common target.