What Can SAFEFOODERA do for EFSA?

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What Can SAFEFOODERA do for EFSA?

• GEOFFREY PODGERExecutive Director EFSA

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• What EFSA Can Do
• Contribute to improved EU food safety by
• Improving the way that EU risk assessment is
  carried out
• Increasing consumer confidence in EU risk
  assessments
• Ensuring close collaboration between national
  bodies and EFSA
• Enabling improved collaboration between the many
  different stakeholders and coordinating their
  input
• Providing the right information to consumers at
  the right time
• Providing the right information to government,
  industrial, NGO and other stakeholders at the
  right time

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• What EFSA Cannot Do
• Be responsible for food safety/nutrition policy
  and legislation
• Take charge of food safety controls, labelling or
  other such issues
• Act as a substitute for national authorities
• Solve all the problems of the world!

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EFSA Staff

• Increased from c. 20 (Feb 2003) to c. 150(May
  2005)
• Genuinely multinational and multicultural
• National secondees

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Scientific Expert Panels

• Established from June 2003
• c260 opinions already produced
• 170 opinions expected 2005
• Open meetings
• Disclosure of interest
• Further support from creation of
  ScientificExpert Services

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Coping with the Scientific Workload

• Prioritisation
• Separation between issues requiring formal
  opinions and those needing internal advice
• Creation and use of expert networks
• Greater use of European scientific institutions
  to take over parts of workload

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EFSA Relations with National Authorites - I

• Fundamental Principles
• EFSA and National Authorities are not in a
  position of hierarchical dependency
• EFSA has obligation to co-ordinate work with
  national authorities
• EFSA is the final arbiter on certain EU dossiers
• National issues remain for national authorities
• Member States have right to put issues to EFSA
• Formation of Advisory Forum

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EFSA Relations with National Authorities - II

• EFSA Scientific Opinions
• EFSA Scientific Opinions are independent and not
  subject to agreement by National Authoritiesbut
• There is an obvious need
• (a) to ensure that national authorities can
  input into the work of the EFSA Scientific
  Committee/Panels
• (b) to enable national authorities to comment on
  opinions issued in draft for general comment
• c) to seek to avoid duplication of effort, where
  possible and desirable.

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EFSA Relations with National Authorities - III

• Food Crisis/Food Scare
• EFSA has role in assisting the Commission
• EFSA involvement will depend on nature of crisis
• EFSA would wish to involve national food
  authorities in risk assessements outside formal
  opinions
• Investment in crisis scenario rehearsals

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EFSA Relations with National Authorities - IV

• Communication
• Effective EU communication requires full
  involvement of national authorities
• National authorities given advance notice of EFSA
  announcements
• Investment in technology to improve communication
  between EFSA and national authorities
• Formation of Advisory Forum Working Group on
  Communication

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What has been gained by establishing EFSA an
EFSA view - I

• Independence
• No credible suggestion of political, industry
  or NGO influence
• EFSA has been ready to raise and publicize
  difficult issues
• Much co-operative working with other EU
  Institutions including the Commission.

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What has been gained by establishing EFSA an
EFSA view - II

• Openness/Transparency
• EFSA MB Meetings webstreamed and public
  admitted
• High level of website information on completed
  and ongoing work
• EFSA has engaged with all stakeholders with a
  legitimate interest as its resources allow.
• Communications
• High level of activity (including with MS)
• Difficult issues successfully handled (eg
  semicarbazide, BSE in goats)
• High quality publication

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What has been gained by establishing EFSA an
EFSA view - III

• Relations with national authorities
• Creation of real sense of common purpose
  involving EFSA and all national food authorities
• Backed up by improved IT systems and preparation
  for future crisis
• Evolving approach to rational definition of
  responsibilities
• An identity of its own
• A separate culture from other EU Institutions
• Inception of wider networks
• A home of its own (Parma)

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EFSA SAFEFOODERA

• Provision of Scientific Opinions, Guidance and
  Advice (e.g. answering Qs from EC, EP, MS and
  own-initiatives)
• Assessing the risk of regulated substances and
  development of proposals for risk-related
  factors
• Monitoring of specific risk factors and diseases
• Development, promotion and application of new and
  harmonized scientific approaches and
  methodologies for hazard and risk assessment of
  food and feed

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EFSA SAFEFOODERA

• ALSO
• Co-ordination at European level of collection and
  evaluation of relevant scientific and technical
  data (e.g. acrylamide, furan, PAH, dioxins,
  pesticide residues, )
• Identification and evaluation of emerging risks
• Establishing a network of competent organisations
  in EU Member States operating within the fields
  of EFSAs mission (Art. 36 of Regulation (EC)
  178/2002)
• To become a point of reference in risk
  assessment and risk communication in the area of
  food / feed safety

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EFSA SAFEFOODERA

• Updates on trends and developments in national or
  regional research programmes in the area of food
  and feed safety
• Informing EFSA about emerging issues in the area
  of food and feed production, consumption and
  safety
• Informing EFSA about research priorities at
  national and regional level
• Implementation of new approaches as proposed by
  EFSA in the field of data collection and
  monitoring a national / regional level
• Initiating joint activities considered of
  priority by EFSA

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Future challenges

• EFSA review 2005
• Prioritisation and workload management
• Further staff build-up whilst temporarily split
  between two locations
• Reinforcement of links with national authorities
• Continued forging of links beyond the EU
• Making a difference increasing the impact on
  risk managers