Food safety objective: An integral part of food chain management

The concept of food safety objective has been proposed to provide a target for operational food safety management, leaving flexibility in the way equivalent food safety levels are achieved by different food chains. The concept helps to better relate operational food safety management to public health goals, i.e. to an appropriate level of protection. The FSO articulates the joint target of a food chain, including all relevant links in that chain, and is common to all other food chains relevant to a pathogen/commodity combination. Performance objectives and performance criteria are two new concepts proposed recently to complement that of food safety objectives with respect to food safety control and control measures and process criteria regarding operational food safety management. All concepts together help government to give guidance to food chains about the expected safety of food products and at the same time help food chains to design their food production and food safety management systems such that there is compliance with this expectation.