Course Description

Who should really be involved in risk management? (HINT: Not just Regulators) The real challenge in food safety isn’t identifying risks—it’s managing them. When uncertainty, variability, and real-world constraints collide, making the right decision gets tough. That’s why risk management is essential—not just for risk managers, but for scientists, analysts, communicators, and policymakers alike.

Join us for an interactive, two-day Risk Management course designed to move you from analysis to action. Through hands-on activities and real-world scenarios, you'll gain practical tools to:

• Develop risk profiles
• Weight regulatory and policy options
• Set priorities under uncertainty
• Communicate decisions with clarity and confidence

Effective food safety begins with strong risk management. This course empowers everyone involved in the food safety risk analysis process to make informed, timely decisions that protect public health.
Turn insight into impact—and strengthen food safety in your field.

Overview of Topics

This course explores the core responsibilities and decision-making challenges of risk managers in food safety, including:

• Risk Identification & Assessment:
  Recognizing potential hazards in the food supply chain and evaluating their likelihood and severity.
• Regulatory Compliance:
  Ensuring food safety practices align with local, national, and international standards.
• Crisis & Incident Management:
  Leading coordinated responses to food safety incidents, implementing emergency measures, and ensuring corrective action.
• Data-Driven Decision Making:
  Using data and analytics to inform priorities, assess outcomes, and guide policy.
• Supply Chain Management:
  Evaluating and addressing risks at each stage of food production and distribution.
• Continuous Improvement:
  Adapting food safety protocols to meet emerging challenges and drive long-term system improvement.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize how underlying paradigms shape risk perceptions and decision-making
• Apply key risk management frameworks and models in food safety contexts
• Formulate clear, actionable risk management questions
• Interpret and communicate numerical data relevant to risk decisions
• dentify and evaluate risk management options using structured decision tools
• Facilitate effective interactions between risk assessors and risk managers

By the end of the session, you should be able to

• Describe the risk manager’s role within the broader food safety risk analysis process
• Describe two foundational risk management models
• Formulate structured decision questions, including problems, objectives, and constraints
• Distinguish between uncertainty and variability in risk characterization
• Evaluate and compare risk management options using decision-making frameworks
• Understand the economist’s perspective on choices under uncertainty
• Identify effective techniques for stakeholder engagement and team-based analysis
• Recognize the key steps in monitoring, evaluating, and modifying risk management strategies

This course meets a requirement of the JIFSAN Core Certificate in Food Safety Risk Analysis.