Fuzzy risk assessment tool for microbial hazards in food systems

A Fuzzy Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT) has been developed for early-stage risk assessment of microbial hazards in food systems. The user defines parameters to describe initial hazard level, potential changes during processing and consumer preparation as well as factors related to consumption and health impact. The inputs are defined in linguistic terms or semi-quantitative levels which are converted to fuzzy values. Interval arithmetic is used to compute exposure and risk. Four examples of microbial hazards in food systems are used to demonstrate features of the tool.