What Is the European Food Safety Authority?

The task of the European Food Safety Authority is to establish the basic principles and requirements of the Food Law and establish the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) regulations on January 28, 2002.

European Food Safety Authority

In the late 1990s, a series of

The EU Council of Agriculture Ministers passed new legislation, decided to establish the European Food Safety Authority, and began to establish a new food legal framework based on the new EU food law. Unlike previous EU legislation, this legislation has been unanimously approved by all member states, and political factions within the European Parliament have fully agreed on this issue. This is due to the fact that it is well-prepared and that food safety is of great concern and has become the focus of attention of governments and consumers around the world.

Since September 1999, the EU Health and Consumer Protection Department, headed by Berne, has invested in establishing a new EU food safety management system.

The EU White Paper on Food Safety was released in January 2000. It formally proposed the establishment of the European Food Safety Authority and the establishment of a new food legal framework based on the new EU food law, soliciting opinions from various quarters. After more than two years of preparations, especially during the occurrence of vicious incidents such as Belgian dioxin, British mad cow disease and foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, the EU's views on strengthening EU food safety control have become more consistent. With the European Union's consumers, the European Union, the European Council and the European Commission working together to lay the foundation for the smooth establishment of the European Food Safety Authority.

The new EU food legal system has clarified the principle that food and animal feed producers have an inescapable and important responsibility for the safety and health of food, and their actions are the first line of defense for food safety. They must ensure that the products they produce are safe and hygienic. Only safe food and feed can be allowed to enter the market and unsafe food and feed must be withdrawn from the market. The new EU food legal system also establishes rules that introduce noticeable traceability: the safety of all food, animal feed and feed ingredients can be guaranteed through effective control from farm to table.

The new EU food legal system further clarifies that member states need to play a more active role in implementing laws and design and develop a coordinated national control system across the EU, including the establishment of national management agency operating standards, official qualifications and training Requirement, implementation of document control procedures, development of national control plans, etc. which all member states need to comply with.

The new EU food legal system clarifies the role of the European Commission: to support the competent authorities of member states to formulate plans; to carry out general reviews of national plans in accordance with the law; and to check special sections or critical control points if necessary.

The EU believes that through the establishment of a new EU food legal system, the establishment of the EU Food Safety Agency, the establishment of member states' self-control systems, and a clear division of labor, a more reasonable and effective food safety control system for the entire EU can be established. Of course, the European Union also emphasizes that if penalties are not imposed on consumers, consumers will not be satisfied with the new regulatory system. Appropriate punishment is a remedy, but more attention should be paid to taking more effective measures in advance, which may affect food safety, The risks of potential harm to consumer safety are prevented in advance.

At the beginning of February 2002, the European Union will openly invite candidates for the members of the Food Safety Management Board. After seeking advice from the European Parliament, the Board will appoint 14 members of the Management Board, who will form a management team with a representative from the European Commission. Commission. The management committee proposes the candidate for the executive officer. The candidate will report and defend in the European Parliament. The final executive officer will be appointed in late summer or early autumn. The main task of the Food Safety Agency is to provide scientific advice and technical support for the establishment of EU regulations and regulations, and directly or indirectly affect the safety of food or feed through communication with the government and consumers. Although the Food Safety Agency is not a government agency, it provides independent information and directly informs consumers and governments about the risks of food or feed. It is highly transparent and is an authoritative staff trust that stakeholders, government policy makers, and the public trust. , Will play an important and irreplaceable role in the food safety control system.

EFSA is headquartered in Parma, Italy. Its organization includes the Executive Director, the Management Board, the Scientific Committee, and the Scientific Panels.

The management team of EFSA is the management center of the bureau. The membership of the EFSA is based on issues of affairs, not government or organization, industry representatives. The council reviews the work plan of the bureau and confirms the effective cooperation of various departments; the council has the task of designating the director, members of the scientific committee and members of the scientific group. Of the 15 members of the management team, one is a representative of the European Commission, and the remaining fourteen (including a chairman and two vice-presidents) all have expertise and experience. The coming group members are nominated by the European Commission, and the European Council is appointed with reference to the opinions of the European Parliament. The EFSA management team has a term of four years. The group meets at least four times a year and is open to public participation.

The current Director of EFSA is Ms. Geslain-Lanéelle, who was appointed by the Board in 2006 for a five-year term. There is an Administration, Riskassessment, Scientificcooperation & assistance, and Communications department under the director, who is responsible for drafting annual work plans and handling business and personnel affairs within the bureau.

The EFSA Scientific Committee and Scientific Group are responsible for EFSA food safety assessments. The committee and panel members are publicly recruited experts and have experience in risk assessment and the results of academic work. Members and group members are appointed by the council and are appointed every three years. The work of the members of the Scientific Committee are: (1) responsible for providing the director of risk assessment in specific areas and making strategic recommendations; (2) coordinating domestic and foreign experts and research groups of members; (3) providing coordination of affairs between scientific groups Assistance. The Scientific Committee is composed of the chairmen of the scientific group plus six independent scientists. The scientific team is composed of experts according to the required work, and is mainly responsible for risk assessment; the following groups are divided according to expertise:

1. Animal health and welfare

2. Food additives and nutritional additions

3. Biological risks, such as issues related to mad cow disease

4. Food contact substances, enzymes, flavors and processing aids

5. Food chain pollution

6. Additives and products used in animal feed

7.Genetically modified organisms

8. Dietetic products, nutrition and allergies

9. Plant protection products and their residues

10. Phytosanitary

The work of the Scientific Committees and Scientific Groups is assisted by the risk assessment and scientific cooperation departments under the director; in addition, the Ministry of Scientific Cooperation also directly cooperates with experts from Member States to deal with some special issues.

Major work and important achievements

The main principle of the new EU food regulations is that food and animal feed producers have an inescapable and important responsibility for the health and safety of food, which is the first line of defense for food safety. Producers must ensure that the products they produce are safe and hygienic. Only safe food and feed can be allowed to enter the market and unsafe food and feed must be withdrawn from the market. The new EU food legal system also establishes rules that introduce noticeable traceability: the safety of all food, animal feed and ingredients can be guaranteed through effective control of the entire process from farm to table.

EFSA upholds an excellent scientific foundation and management principles of independence, transparency, accountability and cooperation. Its main task is to assess and report all risks associated with the food chain. Because EFSA's work is to assist in risk management policies and decisions, it is mostly based on requests from the Executive Committee and indirect transfers by Parliament or Member States. EFSA was founded by the Scientific Group in May 2003, and has submitted more than 2,000 scientific opinion reports; this includes Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and Transmissible Spongiformencephalopathy (TSE), food Additives (such as Asparta), allergic food materials, genetically modified organisms, pollution sources of the food chain, pesticides, animal health (such as bird flu) and other issues. In addition, EFSA also spontaneously raised some potential food safety issues, such as the origin and incidence of viral anti-animal disease (theviralruminantdisease) and bluetongue (bluetongue) in northern Europe in 2006.

EFSA also develops the latest assessment methods for hazardous substances. For example, to compare various carcinogenic food ingredients, develop some herbal medicines that are increasingly common in Europe and develop a guidebook for the safety assessment of various food supplements from plants, fungi, algae or lichens (such as ginseng).

In addition, EFSA cooperates with Member States to conduct comprehensive data and analysis to ensure the integrity of the reports made by the Bureau. Field surveys conducted by EFSA include a general survey of Salmonella in laying hen flocks and a report on parasite studies across Europe. EFSA also assists Member States in establishing databases on food, food consumption, and potentially harmful substances that consumers come into contact with through food and feed.

The goal of EFSA is to provide appropriate, accurate, timely and consistent information on food and feed to relevant authorities in the EU and Member States. At the public hearing of the advisory working group, EFSA exchanged opinions with the highest food safety units in each Member State and established a multi-student risk communication expert group to guide the work of the bureau.

The work of EFSA has allowed European countries to have unified opinions after comprehensive discussions on food hygiene and safety management, and has affected the EU s General Food Regulations, General Food Trade Regulations and General Conditions of Food Regulations policies and Legislation to allow Member States to update food processing and marketing regulations and rapid food safety alerts and emergency procedures in accordance with national conditions. The food safety assessment method developed by EFSA makes European consumers safer.

The European Union is the world's largest export union, the second largest importer of food and beverages, and a major global agricultural trade unit. The EFSA Council passed an international cooperation plan in 2009. It is expected that in the next 5 years, with the existing academic advantages and experience of EFSA, it will cooperate with food safety and safety centers of other countries (such as the FDA in the United States) and joint government units (such as OIE, IPPC, EPPO, etc.), which will affect future international decisions on food safety assessment.

(1) to provide independent scientific advice on food safety issues and other related matters, such as animal health / welfare, plant health, GMO (genetically modified) and nutrition, as required by the European Commission, the European Parliament (EP) and member states, Use this recommendation as a basis for risk management decisions;

(2) Provide technical suggestions on food issues to promote the development of policies and regulations related to the food chain;

(3) To monitor the safety of the entire food chain in the European Union, collect and analyze data about food and necessary information related to any potential hazards;

(4) Identification and early warning of emergency hazards;

(5) support the work of the European Commission at critical times;

(6) Ask the public for all matters within its jurisdiction. The adoption of the regulations paved the way for the establishment and operation of the European Food Safety Authority in 2002.

EFSA is the main unit of the European food safety system. To ensure the efficiency of the system, EFSA must work closely with other EU entities, including the European Commission's risk management department, the European Parliament and member states. In addition, EFSA cooperates with all food safety-related units and groups. EFSA organizes regular work conferences and seminars every year to publicize work results and exchange opinions.

On the EU side, EFSA accepts the commission's commission to provide decision-making consultants; EFSA mainly cooperates with EU DGSanco, and the two sides have contacts at various levels, including meetings between the Director General and the Director. The agency sends representatives as observers to EFSA's major scientific work meetings and consultant hearings. In addition, EFSA also has a considerable degree of cooperation with the Environment, Research, General Administration of Enterprise and Joint Research Centers of the Executive Committee. Among the various European Union units, EFSA and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) signed a memorandum to further information exchange and cooperation, among which the establishment of a series of material regulations that may endanger food safety.

With the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), EFSA will exchange information on food safety, epidemic control, prevention and emergency treatment of infectious diseases. Finally, the EFSA and the Joint Research Center of the Executive Committee (JointResearchCentre) have signed a collaboration to strengthen research in food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, and plant safety and nutrition.

EFSA sends representatives to regularly participate in meetings of the Environmental Public Health and Food Safety Parliamentary Group (Committee for Environment, Public Health and Food Safety) and other relevant parliamentary meetings, such as the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development, the Committee for Internal Market and Consumer Protection, to provide professionalism Services.

EFSA also discusses strategic and technical issues with the EU Presidency and relevant EU Council working groups. EFSA also plays a very important role in the coordination of EU risk assessment groups, such as officials of animal health associations and national food safety and security units.

Cooperation between EFSA and Member States is considered a priority. Article 36 of the EFSA establishment document clearly lists the contents of cooperation between EFSA and Member States: strengthen cooperation with each other to ensure the integrity of the safety assessment. The main cooperation contents include:

Collection and sharing of scientific data

2.Practice methods for sharing risk assessment

3. Coordinate risk assessment methods

4. Plan cooperation and communication

The main partners are representatives of the European Commission and parliaments of member countries, food hygiene and safety units of member countries, expert groups and specific experts in member countries.

European Food Safety Authority considers genetically modified corn safe

The European Food Safety Agency said on June 30, 2009 that scientists from the agency believed that the genetically modified corn (1629, 3.00, 0.18%) variety of the Monsanto company in the United States was safe and would not cause harm to health and the environment. This statement means that the European Commission may approve the continued cultivation of Monsanto genetically modified corn in Europe.

The European Commission approved the commercial cultivation of Monsanto's GM maize variety MON810 in Europe in 1998, with a license valid for 10 years. This is the only GM crop approved to be grown in Europe.

The European Food Safety Agency's statement was considered to pave the way for the European Commission to reapprove Monsanto's genetically modified corn planting permit.

In a statement released on June 30, the European Food Safety Authority said that from the perspective of the potential impact on human and animal health, MON810 is as safe as traditional corn and "less likely to have a negative impact on the environment."

Monsanto welcomes the statement of the European Food Safety Authority and considers this a milestone for European agricultural growers. But some environmental groups that are firmly opposed to genetically modified crops believe that scientists from the European Food Safety Agency should be "fired."

EU Food Safety Agency releases safety assessment on three food colors

On April 21, 2010, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), as part of ongoing re-evaluation of all authorized food additives (see Commission Regulation (EU) No257 / 2010), Europe The Food Safety Agency's Food Additives and Nutritional Sources Scientific Expert Group (ANSPanel) Food Additives Expert Group has approved scientific opinions on three food colors.

The pigment BrilliantBlackBN (E151) can be used in different foods, including soft drinks, baked goods and desserts. The panel agreed that the daily allowable intake (ADI) of the pigment was still 5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (mg / kgbw) as defined by the Food Science Council in 1984. The Science Group believes that it is only possible to exceed the intake limit if children eat a lot of foods containing this pigment for a long time.

BrownHT (E155) is also used in soft drinks, baked goods and confections, as well as in soy sauces, seasonings and pickles. The expert group believes that the original ADI value of the pigment should be halved to 1.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (mg / kgbw). The reason is that the long-term consumption of BrownHT (the intake is lower than the previous ADI value) has the adverse effect of slightly reducing weight gain.

Due to the limitation of available toxicological data, the expert group did not draw conclusions on the safety of the pigment BrownFK (E154). In November 2009, the European Food Safety Agency's Scientific Panel on Food Additives and Nutritional Sources (ANSPanel) has published opinions on 6 food pigments, 5 of which are azodyes (nitrogen-containing food pigments), and will be in the next few years Assess the remaining 30 pigments. A re-evaluation of two nitrogen-containing food pigments Amaranth (E123) and LithholrubineBK (E180) will be determined by June 2010.

European Food Safety Authority: 10 Spices Without Risk

Recently, the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) reached an agreement with JECFA, saying that after reassessing the safety of 22 flavorings, it believed that 10 of these 22 flavors (FL-no: 02.058, 02.076, 02.109 , 05.124, 05.169, 08.047, 08.064, 08.070, 09.408 and 16.001) without risk of food, the remaining 12 kinds of spices (FL-no: 02.011, 02.012, 02.027, 02.029, 05.020, 05.021, 05.148, 08.036, 08.044, 08.055, 08.079 And 09.273) need to be re-evaluated.

It is understood that in the safety assessment of the 22 kinds of spices by the scientific team of the Bureau, the safety evaluation opinions of 20 kinds of spices are in line with the opinions of the Joint Committee of Experts on Food Additives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization (JECFA), and 2 kinds of spices The opinions of FL-no: 05.148 and 08.079 are different because JECFA's assessment opinion is based on the data of the United States. Therefore, the agency needs some EU data and information to re-evaluate the two substances.

European Food Safety Authority proposes to amend three pesticide residue limits including deltamethrin

On November 9, 2010, the European Food Safety Authority approved an evaluation report submitted by Portugal on the application of deltamethrin residue limits in potatoes submitted by SapecAgroSA, and proposed to amend the deltamethrin residue limits in potatoes.

On November 10th, the European Food Safety Authority approved an evaluation report on the adjustment of ethoxyfuran yellow residue limit in herbal tea (leaf and flower) submitted by the Plant Protection Agency, and proposed to revise herbal tea (leaf and flower) ) Residual limit of ethoxyfuran yellow.

On November 15th, the European Food Safety Authority approved the assessment report of trimethoprim hydrazide residues in the United Kingdom and Hungary-avocado and plum fruits, and proposed to revise the trimethoprim in the three fruits (Methoxyfenozide ) Residual limit.