Brussels, 03/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - At the end of April, the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) made scientific independence and trust in its expertise the goal of its 2020 strategy, "Trusted Science for Safe Food".
The EFSA is a key body in the EU's food safety policy and is in charge of scientific risk assessment. It has been advising those responsible for deciding risk management since 2002 but it has also been accused of lacking independence. The controversy created by its opinion on glyphosate, which differed to the one provided by the World Health Organisation's International Cancer Research Agency, is one of the most recent examples of mistrust regarding its work (see EUROPE 11540).
Over the next few years, EFSA intends to maintain its basic functions to protect consumers from health risks in the food chain, whilst meeting a significant number of challenges ranging from public expectations regarding greater transparency, the impact of globalisation on the future of food safety and nutrition in the EU, as well as improving the efficiency of its work, whilst closely cooperating with member states and international partners.
Its strategy until 2020 is based on five major areas: prioritising the engagement of both the public and different stakeholders in the risk assessment process; expanding the basis of its scientific evidence and optimising access to its data; developing scientific assessment capacity in the EU and knowledge community; preparing itself for new scientific assessment challenges and "creating an environment and culture that reflects the values of the EFSA". On 28 April, the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, visited the EFSA centre in Palma, Italy, to discuss this strategy. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)