Joint Food and Drug Administration/Health Canada Quantitative Assessment of the Risk of Listeriosis From Soft-Ripened Cheese Consumption in the United States and Canada

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing the availability of the ``Joint Food and Drug Administration/Health Canada--Sant[eacute] Canada Quantitative Assessment of the Risk of Listeriosis From Soft-Ripened Cheese Consumption in the United States and Canada.'' We are making available an interpretative summary, a technical Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) report with appendices, a risk-assessment model, and a document responding to public comments that we received regarding the 2013 ``Draft Joint Food and Drug Administration/Health Canada--Sant[eacute] Canada Quantitative Assessment of the Risk of Listeriosis From Soft-Ripened Cheese Consumption in the United States and Canada.'' The purpose of the QRA is to evaluate the effect of factors such as the microbiological status of milk, cheese-manufacturing steps, and conditions during distribution and storage on the overall risk of invasive listeriosis to the consumer of soft-ripened cheese in the United States or Canada. The QRA makes it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of some process changes and intervention strategies in reducing the risk of listeriosis.