Risk assessment of Vibrio vulnificus in raw oysters:  interpretative summary and technical report

Overview

The current document describes the risk assessment of Vibrio vulnificus in raw oysters. When this work began, a draft risk assessment model had been developed in the United States of America to assess the public health risk associated with V. parahaemolyticus in raw oysters. The above-mentioned FAO/WHO V. parahaemolyticus risk assessment in raw oysters looked at how to adapt the model developed in the USA to the situation in other countries.

The purpose of this risk assessment was to investigate further the utility of the United States draft V. parahaemolyticus model, which was published in 2001, together with the additional work undertaken by FAO and WHO on the risk assessment of V. parahaemolyticus, and determine if it could be adapted to a different pathogen, V. vulnificus. The current risk assessment was developed in the same raw oyster vehicle and also, for reasons of data availability, for the same geographic region, thereby representing a very similar exposure scenario. This risk assessment was also undertaken because V. vulnificus illness has one of the highest mortality rates of any foodborne disease and has emerged as a food safety issue in a number of countries and regions including Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea and the USA.