Food safety is a fundamental public health concern, and achieving a safe food supply poses major challenges for national food safety officials. Changing global patterns of food production, international trade, technology, public expectations for health protection and many other factors have created an increasingly demanding environment in which food safety systems operate. An array of food-borne hazards, both familiar and new, pose risks to health and obstacles to international trade in foods. These risks must be assessed and managed to meet growing and increasingly complex sets of national objectives. Risk analysis, a systematic, disciplined approach for making food safety decisions developed primarily in the last two decades, includes three major components: risk management, risk assessment and risk communication. Risk analysis is a powerful tool for carrying out science-based analysis and for reaching sound, consistent solutions to food safety problems. The use of risk analysis can promote ongoing improvements in public health and provide a basis for expanding international trade in foods.