About: EFSA Archives

A new class of pesticides positioned to replace neonicotinoids may be just as harmful to crop-pollinating bees, researchers cautioned Wednesday (15 August).

Environmental NGOs have questioned the European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) scientific capacity to grant EU member states emergency authorisations for neonicotinoids, whose usage was recently banned.

The European Commission has learned its lesson from the glyphosate controversy and is coming forward with “bold proposals” on transparency, says Bernhard Url. The raw data of all industry-funded studies related to pesticides will be made publicly available under Commission plans, he told EURACTIV in an interview.

The European Commission is playing hide and seek with member states regarding a ban on neonicotinoids, and this benefits pesticide manufacturers who keep on killing bees and the environment, Greenpeace claims.

The incidence of Salmonella in humans was almost halved between 2004 and 2009 but new figures show that it has re-appeared, causing worries for food producers and health workers, but also for EU policymakers.

Chemicals, even naturally occurring ones, often sound scary, and they certainly can be hazardous. But most, when appropriately managed, deliver significant benefits, writes Rick Phillips.

The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is standing firmly by its opinion that glyphosate, the world’s most commonly used weedkiller, is probably carcinogenic to humans despite a new large-scale study suggesting the opposite.

Scientists have come to Brussels to warn policymakers of the negative impact of pesticides on bees as the Commission prepares to propose a full ban on neonicotinoids.

The EU on Wednesday (25 October) postponed a vote on renewing the licence for the controversial weedkiller glyphosate, which the European Parliament wants to ban in five years' time amid criticism that it may cause cancer.

Lawyers on the “Monsanto papers” case accused the EU agencies responsible for food safety and chemicals of “wilfully sawing off certain studies” in their risk assessment of glyphosate.

As member states are due to vote on two key dossiers, maize farmers claim that EU regulation restricting access to plant protection products and plant genetics has reduced their competitiveness worldwide and that such regulation is not based on science.

Representatives of the EU’s 28 member states voted yesterday (19 July) in favour of a European Commission proposal to reduce the presence in food of acrylamide, a known carcinogenic substance present in fries, crisps, bread, biscuits, or coffee.

Close to half of the experts at the European Food Security Agency have conflicts of interest that call into question the validity of the agency’s work, according to a new study by Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO). EURACTIV France reports.

Green MEPs have lodged a complaint to denounce the lack of transparency in EFSA’s assessment of glyphosate. They hope to change the internal rules of the agency to boost transparency and limit lobby influence.

Studies by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) about the risks of the glyphosate pesticide have different conclusions. Belgian MEP Bart Staes told EURACTIV Germany that EFSA needs to make its findings public so they can be scrutinised.

A new report accuses glyphosate producers of “buying science” in order to secure the substance's position in the EU market.

The world’s most widely used insecticides would be banned from all fields across Europe under draft regulations from the European Commission, seen by EURACTIV’s partner The Guardian.

Two new surveys have found high levels of acrylamide, a known carcinogen, in UK-made baby biscuits and Belgium's favourite fast food.

NGOs are warning Italy that it should not extend a grace period, and ensure that pesticides containing glyphosate do not contain the toxic co-formulant POE-tallowamine.

As the world focuses elsewhere, two untested varieties of genetically modified maize are slowly manoeuvring their way through the legislative hoops of the European institutions towards Europe’s fields, writes Mute Schimpf.

A vote on the European Commission’s draft regulation on acrylamide, a contaminant formed in foods when cooked at high temperatures, will take place next year, an EU spokesperson told EURACTIV.com.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has asked the public for input on the complex question of the "cocktail effects" of chemical substances. EURACTIV's partner Journal de l'Environnement reports.

A European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) report has warned that 6.5% of food imports from third countries contain pesticide residue that exceeds the EU's maximum permitted level. EURACTIV Spain reports.

The EU's food safety watchdog faces a funding shortfall over the next five years but will not discuss the issue with Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis when he visits its Parma headquarters for the first time today (27 April).