This document outlines the methodology and results of a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) used by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to rank thirteen foodborne pathogens in order of their detrimental effect on UK society.
This overall approach to prioritisation comes off the back of a series of foodborne disease-related estimates produced by the FSA’s Analytics Unit.
The average ranking results show that Norovirus, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter, Salmonella
and Cl. Perfringens all ranked high in their detriment to society.
E. coliO157, Adenovirus, Sapovirus and Giardia all ranked mid-range and Astrovirus, rotavirus, Cryptosporidium and Shigella all ranked low.
The pathogens were ranked in the MCDA using six different weighted criteria.
The processes of selecting and weighting these criteria are integral to MCDA and occurred through a series of discussions, surveys and workshops that took place over several months and included various teams in the FSA.
The weighting of the criteria was done by senior members of the FSA.
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