The history of microbiologic aspects of food control is reflected in the publications of ICMSF. ICMSF was established in 1962 as foodborne disease greatly increased microbiologic testing of foods. Increased testing, in turn, created widespread practical and regulatory problems in the international food trade. At that time, analytical methods were not standardized, sampling plans were of doubtful statistical validity, and the interpretation of results applied different concepts of biologic significance and acceptance criteria that confused and frustrated industry and regulatory agencies alike.

ICMSF was founded to assemble, correlate, and evaluate evidence about the microbiologic safety and quality of foods; to consider whether microbiologic criteria would improve and ensure the microbiologic safety of particular foods; to propose, where appropriate, such criteria; and to recommend methods of sampling and examination.

The primary purpose of the commission remains to give guidance on appraising and controlling the microbiologic safety of foods, with due attention to microbiologic quality. Meeting the commission's objectives would facilitate international trade; the work of national control agencies, the food industry, and international agencies concerned with the humanitarian aspects of food distribution; and the health of consumers.

An advisory body, the ICMSF provides basic information through extensive study and experience and makes recommendations, without prejudice, based on that information. Results of the studies are published as books or papers.

At its meetings, the ICMSF functions as a working group. Its membership consists of 18 food microbiologists from 11 countries whose interests include research, public health, official food control, education, product and process development, and quality control. Members are from government laboratories in public health, agriculture, and food technology; universities; and the food industry. ICMSF also seeks assistance from consultants specializing in particular areas of microbiology. Four subcommissions (Balkan and Danubian, Latin American, Middle East and North African, and Southeast Asian) promote activities similar to those of ICMSF among food microbiologists on a regional scale and facilitate worldwide communication.

ICMSF raises its own funds and pays for its activities and meetings. The commission obtained support from government agencies, the World Health Organization, International Union of Microbiological Sciences and International Union of of Biological Sciences, and the food industry (more than 80 food companies and agencies in 13 countries).

During its first 25 years, ICMSF devoted the major portion of its effort to methodology research, improved standardization of methods, and 17 refereed publications (1). One important finding was that in analyzing salmonellae, samples could be composited, making it practical to collect and analyze the large number of samples recommended in some stringent sampling plans. With the evolution of alternative methods, rapid test kits, and the everexpanding list of biologic agents involved in foodborne illness, the commission reluctantly discontinued its program of comparison and evaluation of methods.

The long-term objective of enhancing the microbiologic safety of foods in international commerce was addressed initially in books recommending uniform analytical methods (2), sound sampling plans and criteria (3), and the microbial ecology of foods (4,5), which familiarized the analyst and food technologist with processes used in the food industry and foods submitted to the laboratory. Knowledge of the microbiology of major foods and the factors affecting their microbial content helps interpret analytical results.

At an early stage, the commission concluded that no food sampling plan could ensure the absence of a pathogen. Testing foods at ports of entry, or end-product testing elsewhere in the food chain, cannot guarantee food safety. This led the commission to investigate the potential value of HACCP for enhancing food safety. A joint ICMSF/World Health Organization meeting in 1980 led to a report on the use of HACCP for controlling microbiologic hazards in food, particularly in developing countries (6-8).

The commission published the principles of HACCP and procedures for developing HACCP plans (9); the publication discussed the relative importance of controlling the production and harvesting, preparing, and handling of foods. Recommendations are given for the application of HACCP at each step in the food chain—from production and harvest to consumption.

The commission recognized that a major weakness in the development of HACCP plans is hazard analysis; knowing about the many biologic agents responsible for foodborne illness has become difficult. The commission's latest book (1) proposes to facilitate the development and assessment of HACCP plans, improve the safety of foods, and facilitate risk assessment. A thorough concise review of reports on growth and death responses of foodborne pathogens, it is intended as a relatively quick reference manual to assist in making decisions. The commission is revising Microbial Ecology of Foods: (Vol. 2) Food Commodities with publication planned as Microorganisms in Foods 6 in late 1997.

ICMSF submitted its recommendations for sampling foods and acceptance criteria for Listeria monocytogenes to the Secretariat of Codex Alimentarius in 1993. To stimulate discussion, the recommendations were initially provided to the Codex; they were subsequently published (10) and revised after further discussion (11). At the request of the Secretariat of Codex, the commission developed recommendations for the revision of Principles for the Establishment and Application of Microbiological Criteria for Foods, which appears in the Procedural Manual of Codex.

Members of ICMSF believe that the original objectives of the commission still apply. The formation of the European Union, the many other worldwide political changes, the growth of developing countries seeking export markets, and the increased worldwide interest in international trade, as evidenced by the passage of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the North American Free Trade Agreement, all point to the continuing need for unprejudiced guidance and advice. Import and export policies must be as uniform as possible and based on scientific facts. The commission will strive to meet this goal through a combination of educational materials, promotion of HACCP, and recommendations, where appropriate, of sampling plans and microbiologic criteria. In addition, commission members will continue to transfer information on food safety through symposia, meetings, committee activities, and in their daily work. The future success of ICMSF will continue to depend on extensive support from consultants and those who provide the financial support essential to the commission's activities.

Required research includes developing a database of reliable information on microbial responses to food processing conditions. The database needs to be easy to access and use. In addition, because understanding of growth responses and thermal death is greater than our understanding of survival, i.e., little or no loss of viability over many months, we need to have a better understanding of the factors determining that survival and of the underlying microbial physiology. In recent years, we have been faced with such new microbiologic challenges as Salmonella Enteritidis Phage Type 4, multidrug-resistant S. Typhimurium Definitive Type 104, verocytotoxigenic E. coli, Shiga like toxin-producing E. coli, and increasingly vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, and we lack the capacity to anticipate emergence of new pathogens. Finally, new technologies make it possible to study genetic stability and variation in populations, perhaps identifying why particular strains are, or become, more virulent and more pathogenic.

Food safety has traditionally been controlled by inspection and compliance with ordinances or codes of practice. Much faith has been placed in sampling plans and associated microbiologic criteria. However, this approach is retrospective, depending on the microbiologic examination of product that has often been dispatched or consumed. The number of samples that can be examined statistically is too small to detect low levels of "defectives." HACCP was a substantial step forward, with the concept that safety could be designed into a food process. However, HACCP demands substantial knowledge about the characteristics of the food, the process, and the microbes of concern. The knowledge required to implement HACCP effectively is not organized into systems that are easy to use.