Starting from the early years of the 21st century, the agri-food sector of the European Community radically changed direction, shifting from a policy focused exclusively on boosting production (food security) to an approach that places consumer health and food hygiene and safety (food safety) at the centre of the food system.
This shift in approach was mainly caused by the “food scandals” that occurred in the late 1990s.
Among the most striking cases were the so-called “mad cow disease” (BSE), a disease that spread in the United Kingdom due to the feeding of cattle, herbivorous animals, with infected animal proteins to promote weight gain, and the chick mortality that occurred in Belgium, caused by high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxin in eggs and tissues resulting from the use of waste oil from electrical transformers as a component of animal feed.
These events highlighted the need to adopt a more rigorous European food policy, capable of preventing and managing risks throughout the entire production chain.
The European regulatory evolution towards food safety: Regulation 178/2002 and the establishment of EFSA
The first reflections on the new approach based on food safety date back to 1997 with the Commission’s Green Paper on European food law. However, it was only with the 2000 White Paper that a concrete strategy was outlined, based on the traceability of products along the supply chain and the introduction of a rapid alert system in cases of danger. These documents laid the groundwork for Regulation No. 178/2002 (General Food Law), the current regulatory pillar in the area of food safety. The act, from its very title, highlights its threefold function: to define the general principles of food law, to establish procedures in the field of food safety, and to establish the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
The role and functions of EFSA
EFSA, headquartered in Parma, is a European Agency that operates independently from the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Member States. As the body responsible for risk assessment in the food chain, it is tasked with providing scientific advice and technical support not only with regard to European legislation, but also to Member States, in relation to all those areas that have a direct or indirect impact on the safety of food and feed. EFSA’s remit indeed spans from human nutrition to the protection of animal and plant health and welfare.
Among the Agency’s tasks is also the collection and analysis of data enabling the characterisation and monitoring of risks, the formulation of scientific opinions in all cases provided for by EU legislation, and action to identify emerging risks.
The Authority is composed of the following bodies:
- The Executive Director: the legal representative of EFSA, appointed by the Management Board.
- The Management Board: composed of 38 members and 36 alternates, appointed on the basis of their experience and expertise in the field of law and policy relating to the food chain, it ensures that the Authority fulfils its mission and carries out its tasks efficiently.
- The Advisory Forum: composed of representatives of the national food safety bodies of all EU Member States, it plays a crucial role in fostering collaboration between EFSA and the competent authorities of individual Member States. Members use the forum to advise EFSA on scientific matters, its work programme and its priorities, as well as to identify emerging risks as swiftly as possible. Members aim to share scientific information, pool resources and coordinate work programmes with the Authority.
- The Scientific Committee and the Scientific Expert Panels: they issue scientific opinions, each within the sphere of their own competence. The Scientific Committee, in particular, ensures the coherence of scientific opinion procedures and the harmonisation of working methods, and is also responsible for formulating opinions on cross-cutting issues that fall within the competence of more than one Scientific Expert Panel or that do not fall within the competence of any specific panel. The Committee is composed of the chairs of the Scientific Expert Panels and six independent experts not belonging to any panel, while the Scientific Expert Panels are made up of independent experts.
Scientific opinions
The activity that most characterises EFSA is the drafting of scientific opinions which, as just noted, are drawn up by the Scientific Committee or by one or more Scientific Expert Panels. The opinions may cover a range of areas including risk assessment, the analysis of general scientific questions, or the evaluation of an application for authorisation to place a product or substance on the market (as discussed in the section “The Novel Food Authorisation Procedure” of the article dedicated to cultured meat).
Opinions may be drawn up in response to requests from the European Commission, the European Parliament or Member States, or may be formulated on the Authority’s own initiative. This latter possibility highlights EFSA’s autonomy in the exercise of its functions, allowing it to draw attention to issues it considers a priority for the protection of food safety.
Critical aspects of EFSA
Despite the crucial role that EFSA plays in ensuring food safety in Europe, certain aspects of its work have been the subject of criticism over the years. In particular, since the entry into force of Regulation No. 178/2002, a need has emerged among citizens for greater transparency in risk assessment processes. The public perception of EFSA’s effective independence and the scientific quality of its assessments has indeed been called into question, especially in a context of growing distrust towards institutions.
To these concerns have been added practical issues, such as the difficulty in recruiting new experts for the scientific panels, the fact that most of them come from only a few geographic areas, and the general reduction in funding allocated to EFSA. In response to these challenges, Regulation No. 1381/2019 intervenes to amend the composition of the Management Board and the Scientific Expert Panels and to introduce new rules to improve the transparency, independence and reliability of scientific studies, thus initiating what is referred to as “a new phase” in European legislation. In line with what the new Regulation sets out, the Authority itself has also launched the so-called 2020 strategy to ensure the independence of scientists, avoid conflicts of interest and improve the communication of risks to the public.
Conclusion
EFSA has played and continues to play a fundamental role in ensuring food safety in Europe, addressing the complex challenges related to risk assessment. However, the issues that have emerged highlight the need for a constant and targeted commitment to strengthening citizens’ trust in its work.
With the publication of the 2027 strategy, EFSA is preparing to face future challenges, committing to further improving transparency and independence, in order to ensure ever higher standards.
