Developing the risk-based model of scheduled sanitary-epidemiologic control of prepared food providers

The relevance of the study is determined by a substantial change in the structure of services offered by prepared food providers and a growth in outbreaks of communicable diseases due to violations of the mandatory sanitary-epidemiological requirements by prepared food providers and nutrition units in establishments. The aim of this study was to develop the methodical support for the risk-based model of the sanitary-epidemiological control over economic entities operating as prepared food providers. The study was accomplished following the enquiry of the RF Chief Sanitary Inspector. The general principles of risk calculation and identification of risk categories of an economic activity and production facilities remaining intact, a suggestion is to take a value of a temporary exposure criterion for prepared food providers as equal to 1.0 when determining numbers of exposed population. This is justified since a time of a contact with a potential infectious agent in food is of no significance. In addition to that, the model development entails mandatory consideration of population with risks of negative exposures due to consuming food offered by takeaways. The study results indicate that consideration of takeaway food and correct consideration of people’s contacts with a potentially hazardous infectious agent lead to a substantial increase in levels of health risks. Accordingly, there is a growth in the share of economic entities, which, according to potential risks of health harm for consumers, can be assigned into the categories of ‘extremely high risk’ and / or ‘high risk’ (from 1.3 to 8.2 % and from 1.7 to 32 % accordingly in the Perm oblast and Moscow oblast as two pilot regions).The resulting structure of risk categories economic entities are assigned into is more adequate to the current sanitary-epidemiological situation in the country and provides reliable protection for consumers’ health. The prospects of the model development involve accumulation and science-intense analysis of digital branch and interdepartmental data on the branch functioning, results of control and surveillance activities, and health impairments in population associated with risk factors typical for activities performed by prepared food providers.