Topic outline
This series of five courses is designed to improve understanding of Codex Alimentarius and develop sustainable national capacities to engage in and benefit from Codex work. The fifth course provides information on the application of risk assessment in the context of Codex and explains how Codex Members can request, contribute to and use the outcomes of FAO/WHO risk assessment activities. To receive a certificate, you are only required to complete Lessons 1 and 2, plus one of the five sublesson of interest, for an actual workload of approximately 3 hours of self-paced learning.
All stakeholders involved in the scientific and technical aspects of Codex work at national and international levels, such as the scientific community, Codex Contact Points (CCPs) and Codex delegates, will benefit from taking this course, as well as officials representing the food industry and consumer interests and FAO and WHO officers working in the area of food safety.
- The Codex risk analysis framework, including how risk assessment, risk management and risk communication interact in developing international food standards.
- How FAO/WHO provide scientific advice to Codex, including the process for submitting requests, selecting experts, managing data, and conducting expert evaluations.
- The principles and steps of food safety risk assessment, including hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment and risk characterization.
- How scientific advice is generated for different hazard categories, including food additives, contaminants, residues of veterinary drugs, pesticide residues and microbiological hazards.
- How Codex committees use FAO/WHO scientific advice, from establishing maximum levels or maximum residue limits to developing hygiene texts and other risk-management recommendations.
The course consists of two main lessons and five sublessons of approximately 50-60 minutes duration each:
- Lesson 1 – Procedural aspects of risk assessment in Codex
- Lesson 2 – Principles of scientific risk assessment and hazard categories
- Sublesson 2a – Risk assessment of food additives in the context of Codex
- Sublesson 2b – Risk assessment of contaminants and toxins in the context of Codex
- Sublesson 2c – Risk assessment of residues of veterinary drugs in the context of Codex
- Sublesson 2d – Risk assessment of pesticide residues in the context of Codex
- Sublesson 2e – Risk assessment of microbiological hazards in the context of Codex
This course runs on the latest versions of the major browsers, such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari.
The course opens in a separate popup window. If this does not happen, a popup blocker in the browser is probably preventing it from opening and you will need to disable popup blockers for this site. Please read the following instructions on how to do this.
Digital certification
To be granted a digital certification from the FAO e-learning Academy, a final evaluation exam should be taken after completing the course. Digital badge certifications confirm that you have successfully achieved the learning outcomes outlined in FAO e-learning courses.
For this course, a separate evaluation exam and certificate are available for each of the five hazard categories, aligned with the sublesson you chose to complete.
Please click on the link related to your selected hazard category to begin the test.
Evaluate this course
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