The current health status of a population is evaluated
conducting a Microbiological Risk Assessment (MRA)
for a product or product group to which a pathogen is
associated (Buchanan, Smith, & Long, 2000; Lammerding
& Fazil, 2000). An MRA can give an absolute or
a relative indication of the health status, i.e. provide
an absolute numerical expression of the risk at population
level respectively a relative or benchmarked
expressing (e.g. a ranking). Importantly, MRA studies
can be developed on many levels of detail, amongst
many others depending on the complexity of the issue,
the urgency for obtaining the risk estimate and the data
available (van Gerwen & Gorris, 2004). What all MRA
studies should have in common is that they involve all
relevant food products in a country or imported into a
country (Fig. 1). They should keep to the important
basic principles of being structured, systematic, transparent,
and open studies. They also should give detailed
account of all information that is important to understand
the process by which the risk estimate has been
arrived at as well as the content of the study. Thus,
for instance, data considered, data rejected and rationale
for that, models used, assumptions made and opinions
all should be specified. With the risk estimate, an
account of variability and uncertainty should be given.