Use of computational tools in the field of food safety.

In this article we give an overview of how computational methods are currently used in the field of food safety by national regulatory bodies, international advisory organisations and the food industry. Our results show that currently the majority of stakeholders in the field of food safety do not apply computational methods on a routine basis, mainly because of a lack of in-house expertise. Some organisations, however, are very experienced in their use and have developed specialised in-house approaches. Despite this variable situation, computational tools are widely perceived to be a useful tool to support regulatory assessments and decision making in the field of food safety. Recognized, however, is a widespread need to develop guidance documents and software tools that will promote and harmonise the use of computational methods, together with appropriate training.