Section 7Sec./Art. 7

Use of Science-based Risk Analysis. The following shall guide the use of science and risk analysis in food safety regulation:

(a) The development of food safety legislation and standards and the conduct of inspection and other official control activities shall be based on the analysis of risk, except where this approach is not feasible due to circumstances, or due to the nature of the control measure;

(b) Risk assessment shall be based on sound scientific evidence and shall be undertaken in an independent, objective and transparent manner. Scientific information as obtained from scientific literature, epidemiological and monitoring studies and other data that supports the risk assessment shall be used;

(c) Risk management shall take into account the results of risk assessment relevant to local conditions, potential for enforcement, cost of compliance and others as may be relevant to the situation;

(d) Risk communication shall he carried out between risk assessors and risk managers in a transparent manner. Food safety risks shall also be communicated to farmers, fisherfolk and food business operators to encourage compliance with the implementation of control measures and to relevant sectors of society affected by the law or the risks addressed in order to strengthen confidence in its provisions; and

(e) Food business operators shall be encouraged to implement a HACCP-based system for food safety assurance in their operations.