The methodology of balancing risks and/or balancing risks and
benefits in microbiological perspective has to date most notably
been used for evaluating risk factors related to applications for
reducing microbiological exposure to humans. Most if not all applications used for controlling microbiological health risks create
an alternative risk to public health, often a chemical risk; warranting
the evaluation and balancing of both risks and benefits
(reduced risk) for public health management. Case studies related
to food microbiological topics that formulated a benefit–risk question
could not be found in the literature, and all related studies
could be regarded as risk–risk assessments (Table 2). However,
some groups have suggested that an intervention that leads to
reduction in risk may be regarded as a positive health effect or benefit.
In such cases, the reduction in microbiological risk achieved by
the chemical or alternative intervention might be regarded as a positive
health effect and thus is weighed as a benefit in a benefit–
risk assessment. In fact, risk–risk and benefitrisk assessment are
analogous approaches and could be performed in a similar manner.
In the following section we therefore discuss in more detail a case
study performed by Havelaar et al. (2000) on the balancing of
microbial and chemical risk. This is in essence a risk–risk assessment
nevertheless it warrants a brief discussion as it sheds a light
on the approaches used to carry out a quantitative microbiological
BRA.