title: Applicability and feasibility of systematic review for performing evidence-based risk assessment in food and feed safety.
abstract: Food and feed safety risk assessment uses multi-parameter models to evaluate the likelihood of adverse events associated with exposure to hazards in human health, plant health, animal health, animal welfare, and the environment. Systematic review and meta-analysis are established methods for answering questions in health care, and can be implemented to minimize biases in food and feed safety risk assessment. However, no methodological frameworks exist for refining risk assessment multi-parameter models into questions suitable for systematic review, and use of meta-analysis to estimate all parameters required by a risk model may not be always feasible. This paper describes novel approaches for determining question suitability and for prioritizing questions for systematic review in this area. Risk assessment questions that aim to estimate a parameter are likely to be suitable for systematic review. Such questions can be structured by their "key elements" [e.g., for intervention questions, the population(s), intervention(s), comparator(s), and outcome(s)]. Prioritization of questions to be addressed by systematic review relies on the likely impact and related uncertainty of individual parameters in the risk model. This approach to planning and prioritizing systematic review seems to have useful implications for producing evidence-based food and feed safety risk assessment.
authors.affiliation: a European Food Safety Authority, Assessment and Methodological Support Unit , Parma , Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aiassa
authors.forename: J P T
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Higgins
authors.forename: G K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Frampton
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Greiner
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Afonso
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Amzal
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deeks
authors.forename: J-L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Dorne
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Glanville
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Lövei
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nienstedt
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: O'connor
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Pullin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rajić
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Verloo
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000009:adverse effects; D000827:Animal Welfare / Q000592:standards; D000818:Animals; D004777:Environment; D005502:Food; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods; D059022:Food Safety; D006801:Humans; D009753:Nutritive Value; D010944:Plants; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014116:Toxicology
keywords: Evidence synthesis; meta-analysis; risk model; transparency; uncertainty