1. Introduction
Risk analysis has emerged over the past decade as the internationally
recognized framework for improving food control systems
with the objectives of producing safer food, reducing the number of
foodborne illnesses and facilitating the international trade of foods.
In this context, microbiological risk assessments aim at evaluating
the risks, namely the probabilities and severities of adverse health
effects, for consumers resulting from the exposure to pathogenic
microorganisms present in foods for implementing appropriate
management options. These scientific evaluations encompass the
following four steps: i) hazard identification which consists of
identifying and describing the pathogenic microorganisms,
ii) exposure assessment which consists in evaluating the quantity
of foodborne pathogens or toxins ingested by consumers, iii) hazard
characterization generally consisting of doseeresponse relationships
allowing to estimate the probability and severity of adverse effects
knowing the ingested dose, and iv) risk characterization allowing
the estimation of risk from exposure and doseeresponse modeling.