Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

World Health Organization 

Microbiological Criteria have been used in food production and the food regulatory context for many years. While the food-specific aspects of microbiological criteria are well understood, the mathematical and statistical aspects are often less well appreciated, which hinders the consistent and appropriate application of microbiological criteria in the food industry. This document has been developed to begin redressing this situation. A particular aim of this document is to illustrate the important mathematical and statistical aspects of microbiological criteria, but with minimal statistical jargon, equations and mathematical details. It is hoped that the resulting document and support materials make this subject more accessible to a broad audience. This volume and others in this Microbiological Risk Assessment Series contain information that is useful to both food safety risk assessors and risk managers, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, governments and regulatory agencies, food producers and processers and other institutions and individuals with an interest in Microbiological Criteria. This volume in particular aims to support food business operators, quality assurance managers, food safety-policy makers and risk managers.

A Risk Manager's Guide

Statistical aspects of microbiological criteria related to foods

This publication showcases the steps the Codex Alimentarius has taken from 2016 to 2017 to ensure safe and quality food for all. Over the year, the committees prepared updates to international food standards, guidelines and codes of practice, with the Codex Alimentarius Commission acting as the final decision-making body.

The road from Codex Alimentarius Commission 39 to 40

The science of food standards

2019 has been the year of food safety with The First FAO / WHO / AU International Food Safety Conference in Addis Ababa and the WTO International Forum on Food Safety and Trade in Geneva shining the global spotlight on issues that will affect global food production and supply systems, consumers, industry and the planet itself. The Codex Alimentarius Commission is where the world comes together to set international food safety and quality standards to protect consumer health and facilitate international trade. This publication reports on the Codex year and is produced in conjunction with the 42nd Codex Alimentarius Commission held in Geneva 8-12 July 2019.

Codex 2019: The year of food safety

United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund

World Food Programme 

International Fund for Agriculture Development

New evidence this year corroborates the rise in world hunger observed in this report last year, sending a warning that more action is needed if we aspire to end world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. Updated estimates show the number of people who suffer from hunger has been growing over the past three years, returning to prevailing levels from almost a decade ago. Although progress continues to be made in reducing child stunting, over 22 percent of children under five years of age are still affected. Other forms of malnutrition are also growing: adult obesity continues to increase in countries irrespective of their income levels, and many countries are coping with multiple forms of malnutrition at the same time – overweight and obesity, as well as anaemia in women, and child stunting and wasting. Last year’s report showed that the failure to reduce world hunger is closely associated with the increase in conflict and violence in several parts of the world. In some countries, initial evidence showed climate-related events were also undermining food security and nutrition. This year’s report goes further to show that climate variability and extremes – even without conflict – are key drivers behind the recent rise in global hunger and one of the leading causes of severe food crises and their impact on people’s nutrition and health. Climate variability and exposure to more complex, frequent and intense climate extremes are threatening to erode and reverse gains in ending hunger and malnutrition. Furthermore, hunger is significantly worse in countries where agriculture systems are highly sensitive to rainfall, temperature and severe drought, and where the livelihood of a high proportion of the population depends on agriculture. The findings of this report reveal new challenges to ending hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition. There is an urgent need to accelerate and scale up actions that strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity of people and their livelihoods to climate variability and extremes. These and other findings are detailed in the 2018 edition of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World.

World Health Organization

Books

Your next favorite book is out there