Risk analysis offers a tool that national food safety authorities can use to make significant gains in food safety. Encompassing three major components (risk management, risk assessment and risk communication), risk analysis provides a systematic, disciplined approach for making food safety decisions. It provides food safety regulators with the information and evidence they need for effective decision-making, contributing to better food safety outcomes and improvements in public health. FAO and WHO have developed this guide to assist food safety regulators' understanding and use of risk analysis in national food safety frameworks. The primary audience is food safety officials at the national government level. The publication provides essential background information, guidance and practical examples of ways to apply food safety risk analysis. It complements and is aligned with other documents that have been produced or are being developed by FAO, WHO and the Codex Alimentarius Commission. This guide is the first of a two-part set. The second part will comprise a number of educational elements for capacity building, and include a slide presentation for use in training, a collection of up-to-date FAO and WHO tools and training materials related to food safety risk analysis, and specific examples and case studies of risk analysis carried out at the national and international level. Both parts will also become available on CD-ROM.