Dar seafood ppp standard

Severity of adverse health effects

The estimate of the severity of adverse health effects caused by a food-borne agent is based on the ranking scheme for food-borne pathogens and toxins described by the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF) [28]. The ICMSF ranking scheme categorises hazards by the severity of the threat they pose to human health, taking into consideration the:

• 
  likely duration of illness
  
• 
  likelihood of death
  
• 
  potential for ongoing adverse health effects.
  
  
  

The severity of adverse health effects caused by a hazard is ranked as moderate, serious or severe according to the following definitions:

• 
  moderate severity applies when the hazard is likely to cause an illness of short duration with no ongoing adverse health effects (sequelae)
  
• 
  a serious hazard would cause an illness of longer duration, with some chance of ongoing chronic and debilitating effects
  
• 
  a severe hazard would cause illnesses with serious sequelae or significant mortality rates.
  

Under the ICMSF ranking, severe hazards are further divided into those applying to the general population and those applying to specific sub-populations, that is, susceptible individuals (for example, the very young and old, the immunocompromised, and pregnant women and their unborn children). This takes into account those situations where a hazard considered to be of moderate or serious severity to the general population may cause a severe illness in certain susceptible sub-populations. This is reflected in the severity rankings presented in Table 3.

The ICMSF severity ranking scheme was developed to apply principally to microbiological hazards. In this report, the ICMSF approach has been adapted to rank the severity of threat posed by all microbiological and natural contaminant hazards potentially associated with seafood eaten in Australia. Certain chemical contaminants and microbiological hazards not originally ranked by the ICMSF have been added to Table 3 (entries with asterisks) based on information available on the severity of adverse health effects associated with exposure to them. Justification for severity rankings is in the relevant sections of Appendix 4.
In determining the severity ranking for chemical contaminants, particularly heavy metals, it was noted that adverse health effects tend to become evident after prolonged exposure, and are typically chronic in nature. This is in contrast to the situation applying to most microbiological hazards, where a single exposure can lead to illness.
In determining the severity of the threat to human health, no consideration has been given to the likelihood of exposure to the hazard or the probability of occurrence of any illness caused by that hazard. These considerations are encapsulated in the estimate of likelihood of adverse effects, below.