Background information
In response to the request from Codex for scientific advice, FAO and WHO performed, with experts in the field, microbiological risk assessments in several foods since 2000. In 2021, a guidance document was developed on how to perform microbiological risk assessments to harmonize approaches that assess and characterize foodborne risks1. Over the last few decades, remarkable technological advancements have transformed analytical methods in the field of food microbiology. These innovations have enabled the adoption of alternative approaches to traditional microbiological techniques, most of which are rooted in molecular biology. The developments in DNA sequencing technologies to identify microbiological hazards have revolutionized clinical diagnostics, and is gradually being adopted by food inspection authorities and industries.
As new molecular-based omics tools are being adopted by researchers and stakeholders, this opens avenues to use this information to enrich and fine tune microbiological risk assessments. With these developments in omics in microbiological risk characterisation, the FAO/WHO JEMRA is undertaking new work to evaluate the potential of omics in microbiological risks assessments, and to assess how this development could influence future risk management options undertaken by food authorities and companies.
The meeting objectives are:
- Compile a catalogue of currently available omics (namely genomics/metagenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics) technologies and methodologies for microbiological risk assessment.
- Review and assess the challenges, obstacles and benefits of applying these technologies and methods for data generation, collection, and analysis in multidimensional scenarios (different genes, proteins and/or metabolites from different microbiological hazards, different laboratory capacity setting, etc.); map and develop approaches to reduce data variability and increase the interoperability of outputs.
- Provide scientific options on how to choose, analyse, and translate the omics data and methods for microbiological risk assessment purposes.
- Review and consider practices that require standardized microbiological food safety omics practice by considering in vitro and in vivo (e.g. host genetics), genotype and phenotype, epigenetic, strain variability, microbial interactions (e.g. microbiome, environment), behaviour changes, etc.
List of experts
The list of experts and their bio-sketches for this meeting is available in this page's download section. Please find below their bio-sketches. If you have any comments, please contact us at JEMRA@fao.org and JEMRA@who.int no later than 20 February 2026.
1 FAO and WHO. 2021. Microbiological risk assessment - Guidance for food. Microbiological Risk Assessment Series No. 36. Rome