What We Heard and Next Steps

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What We Heard and Next Steps
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The people who made this possible

• Wes Long
• Audrey Ichida
• Sharon Thompson
• Mary Bender
• Steve Schaub
• Sherri Dennis
• Wendy Fineblum

• Judy Quigley
• Mary Grimley
• Dennis Lang
• Tanya Roberts
• Peg Coleman
• Ann Courtney
• Angelo Turturro
• Richard Whiting

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The people who made this possible
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Plenary Session

• Must increase the size of our toolbox
• Enhance interactions with economists who perform
  Cost-Benefit analyses
• Need more standardization on how test-based data
  is disseminated
• Need methodological research
• Improve linkage with epidemiology
• Potential applications to new types of problems
  (e.g., food security, food sufficiency)

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Current and Future Dimensions in Microbiological
Risk Assessment Part I

• Genomics will be increasingly valuable and will
  be useful in informing RA
• MRA will need to consider the vast diversity
  that exists in both the pathogen and the host
• Genomic methods may help surveillance in complex
  communities and can help identify new or emerging
  threats

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Interface Between Risk Assessors and Risk
Managers

• Respect is critical, no more us and them
• Functional and physical separation between RM and
  RA must be balanced
• Ongoing interaction provides for more informed
  decision making
• Managers must articulate goals and questions, and
  learn about risk assessment
• Risk assessors must enhance communication skills

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Resources for Risk Assessors

• Risk assessors have substantial bioinformatics
  challenges
• A number of unique data sources available
• Epidemiological data (e.g. Japan)
• Com-Base
• FAOSTAT
• NHANES and CSFII
• Need for easy access

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Modeling (Modelling?) Intervention Strategies for
Pathogen Control

• Simple models for microbial growth, death and
  survival may not be good enough?
• We have a wealth of knowledge that could be used
  for risk assessments
• Need to be able to translate risk assessments
  into parameters and procedures used in food
  industry if going to improve public health

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Current and Future Dimensions in Microbiological
Risk Assessment Part II

• Can a standard approach be developed that will
  cover all microbial types and human
  subpopulations?
• Are current protocols for predicting risk
  sufficient for decision making?
• How much flexibility is needed?

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Modeling Challenges

• Ascertaining the relevance of data sets is very
  difficult but very important
• Need to differentiate variation and uncertainty
  separate, both technically and for effective
  communication
• Great progress is modeling things that just a
  few years ago were thought too complex (e.g.,
  cross-contamination)

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Viruses

• Minimum information on diversity of viral
  isolates - genetically highly diverse
• Methodological limitations
• Modeling of viral penetration and infection is
  not biologically based

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Modeling Susceptible Populations

• Epidemiologic, animal, and in vitro studies can
  be integrated to provide a biological basis for
  risk
• Strategic research directed to specific
  biological phenomena not just data but
  mechanisms also

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Overall Themes

• Microbial risk assessment is in its infancy
• It appears to be a very smart baby

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Overall Themes

• Effective communication and interaction critical
• Keep focus on the goal, i.e., sound risk-based
  food safety decisions
• Need to embrace a wider range of disciplines and
  approaches
• Balance complexity vs. usefulness (i.e.,
  parsimony)
• Openness of participants was outstanding

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Next Steps

• JIFSAN Food Safety Risk Assessment Clearinghouse
  is a resource for communication that is available
  to help

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Next Steps

• Publication of the proceedings
• Manuscripts due to Audrey Ichida by August 30th

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Next Steps

• 2nd International Conference
• Would it be worthwhile?
• How could we improve it?
• Where should we hold it?

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• Thank you for participating and have a safe trip
  home