CAC/GL 77-2011 Guidelines for Risk Analysis of Foodborne Antimicrobial Resistance
INTRODUCTION
1. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR; also used for “antimicrobial resistant” in this document) is a major global public health concern and a food safety issue. When pathogens become resistant to antimicrobial agents they can pose a greater human health risk as a result of potential treatment failure, loss of treatment options and increased likelihood and severity of disease. Problems related to AMR are inherently related to antimicrobial use in any environment, including human and non-human uses. The use of antimicrobial agents in food producing animals/crops provides a potentially important risk factor for selection and dissemination of AMR microorganisms and determinants from animals/food crops to humans via the
consumption of food.
2. In accordance with Codex principles, risk analysis is an essential tool in assessing the risk to human health from foodborne AMR microorganisms and determining appropriate risk management strategies to control those risks. Over the past decade, there have been significant developments with respect to the use of risk analysis approaches in addressing AMR. A series of FAO/OIE/WHO expert consultations on AMR have led to agreement that foodborne AMR microorganisms are potential microbiological food safety hazards. Consequently, the need for the development of a structured and coordinated approach for AMR risk analysis has been emphasized1 , 2 , 3 , 4 . WHO/FAO and OIE guidelines on risk analysis provide broad, structured approaches to address the potential public health impact of AMR microorganisms of animal/crop origin via food5 ,6. However, a consolidated framework specific to foodborne AMR risk analysis was considered necessary, due to the biological complexity of AMR, the multidisciplinary aspects of AMR within the entire food production to consumption continuum and the need to identify appropriate risk management strategies.
