Tag: EFSA

We are witnessing a new phenomenon where online tools, and especially the mobilising force of social media is no longer restricted to high politics or pure monitoring of EU events, but it is entering the realm of regulatory issues, from pesticides to intellectual property, where policy makers, both on national and EU level, are keen (and sometimes forced) to listen to the public, says András Baneth.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) received more than 200 comments during an online public consultation on its draft opinion on the food additive aspartame. The results, together with the outcome of a stakeholder meeting last week, will be published with EFSA's final scientific opinion in May.

Bread, buns and coffee can be dangerous as they might contain the chemical compound acrylamide, which the Technical University of Denmark's (DTU) National Food Institute now links to cancer. EU food safety authorities have been asked to investigate.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a review of scientific studies and risk assessments related to the decline in bee populations worldwide and in Europe. A final report next year will identify information gaps and research needs in the field.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has called for a further strengthening of the EU's risk assessment capacity at a high-level scientific conference in Parma to mark the agency's 10th anniversary.

The European Parliament is set to suspend its approval for the 2010 budget of three EU agencies due to expenditures which appear unjustified, according to the lawmaker in charge of the dossier.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published its scientific evaluations of 2,758 of health claims for the marketing of foods. Only one fifth of these claims were ultimately approved. The evaluations form part of the EU's strategy for encouraging consumers to make informed choices in their diet.

Amid growing criticism of its GMO bias and growing overall workload, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has decided to develop a database of external scientific experts to help the agency carry out risk assessments and enhance the transparency of the expert recruitment process. 

A Eurobarometer about EU citizens' general fears and fears about food shows that 63% are concernced about pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables and 62% about bird flu type viruses.

The Commission adopted a White Paper on Food Safety in January 2000, which signals a new regulatory approach aiming to restore confidence of the European public in food safety following several food crises (dioxins, BSE and Food-and-Mouth). This new "from the farm to the fork" approach draws together the various aspects of food safety along the food chain.

On 2 October the management board of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) nominated Mr Geoffrey Podger as its Executive Director.

On 15 July, the EU Agriculture Council took the final decision on the composition of the European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) management board.

The EU leaders ended their two-day Laeken Summit without an agreement on the future location of several new European Agencies. On Saturday 15 December, they had approved the Declaration of Laeken and nominated Mr. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing as chairman of the Convention preparing the next round of European reforms.