Risk governance, i.e. the identification, assessment, management, and communication of risks, is essential to ensure microbial food safety (MFS) in society. However, current MFS risk governance (MFSRG) frameworks mainly focus on the technical evaluation of risks, while the sociocultural evaluation is often omitted. Therefore, this project aims to elaborate three currently underdeveloped fields of MFSRG, i.e. concern assessment (assessment of social concerns), risk evaluation (value-based acceptability judgment of risks), and food safety communication (interactive exchange of information throughout the whole MFSRG framework). This project is innovative as socially relevant fields that are not yet well elaborated in a MFS context will be addressed both theoretically, i.e. concept development via literature and Delphi studies, and applied, i.e. concept validation via consumer surveys and multi-stakeholder focus group discussions. During concept validation, two case studies will be elaborated: Salmonella in foods of animal origin and L. monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods. Completing the MFSRG framework will result in important knowledge gains that food business operators, (non-)governmental organizations, and academia can directly apply to further improve MFS, reduce economic losses, and ameliorate the resilience and perception of MFSRG in society.