Category: European Food Safety Authority
-
EFSA Issues New Guidance for Environmental Risk Assessment of GM Animals
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published new guidance on ways of assessing the potential risks of producing genetically modified (GM) animals, including fish, insects, mammals, and birds. Although EFSA reports that it has not yet received any applications for GM animals, the European Commission evidently requested that the agency develop environmental risk assessment (ERA) guidance…
-
EFSA Reduces TDI for Phenol
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has lowered the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of phenol—a chemical used to make coatings, adhesives and inks in food contact materials—from 1.5 to 0.5 mg/kg bw/day. The action follows a request from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment asking EFSA’s Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and…
-
EFSA Delays Release of Aspartame Opinion
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently announced its decision to delay its final opinion on the safety of aspartame until November 2013 “to allow sufficient time to consider and address feedback, including new information, resulting from the public consultation on its draft opinion.” According to the agency, the Scientific Panel on Food Additives and…
-
EFSA Opens Public Consultation on Fluoride Reference Values
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA Panel) has initiated a public consultation on the draft scientific opinion on dietary reference values for fluoride. Citing evidence that supports fluoride’s role in the prevention of dental caries, the NDA Panel set the adequate intake (AI) for all sources, including…
-
EFSA Solicits Acrylamide Data
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued “a call for acrylamide occurrence data in food and beverages intended for human consumption collected outside official controls.” Part of the agency’s ongoing assessment of acrylamide levels in food and beverages, the latest request for data focuses on the following product categories: (i) french fries sold as…
-
EC to Restrict Neonicotinoids in Bid to Protect Bees
Although a recent proposal to restrict the use of three neonicotinoids failed to gain support from the qualified majority of member states on an appeals committee, the European Commission (EC) has announced its intention to proceed with the plan as part of its bid to better protect honeybees. Basing its decision on a European Food…
-
EC Issues Results of Contaminated Beef Investigation
The European Commission (EC) has released the results of its investigation into beef products contaminated with horsemeat, reporting that 5 percent of tested products were contaminated with horse DNA and 0.5 percent of tested horse carcasses were contaminated with the pain reliever phenylbutazone (bute). The investigation apparently involved 7,259 tests carried out by 27 member…
-
GMO Panel Member Calls for Transparency of Biosafety Data
In a recent paper, a member of European Food Safety Authority and Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety genetically modified organism (GMO) panels has explored whether biosafety data provided to regulatory authorities by companies developing GMOs should be protected from disclosure. K.M. Nielsen, “Biosafety Data as Confidential Business Information,” PLOS Biology, 2013. Noting that standards…