EFSA
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) plays a key role in the authorisation of thousands of products ending up in the food chain (GMOs, pesticides, food additives, nanotech products). Conflicts of interest at EFSA expert panels seem endemic, in particular their relations with industry lobby group ILSI. In the last couple of years, there has been growing awareness and attention from MEPs, media and public.
An investigation was started by the European Court of Auditors, whose report was published in September saying that the EU agencies did not handle conflicts of interest adequately. The European Parliament finally approved EFSA's 2010 budget, but only including a long list of conditions to be met before the next budget approval. The European Commission is planning to revise the EFSA founding regulation and has published a Roadmap for all agencies that includes the conflict of interest issue. EFSA last year started a process to design new rules on conflicts of interest, which have brought some improvements. When EFSA renews the membership of 8 of the expert panels in late June 2012, it will become clear how effective the new rules really are.
In the various articles, blogs and letters published in this section, CEO with other organisations lists numerous recommendations for radical change at EFSA, both regarding the science used, and the independence of the experts, management board and staff. In our joint report with Earth Open Source "Conflicts on the menu: a decade of industry influence at the European Food Safety Authority", we aim to provide an overview of how EFSA works, and give various examples of the agency’s reliance on industry data and industry-linked experts. The report is also available in French.
The below video is an educational tool explaining in 3 minutes what the major problems at EFSA are. Also available in French and with Spanish subtitles here.
Corporate Europe Observatory, Via Campesina, the Italian GMO Task Force and FIRAB invite you to a citizens' conference on 12 November in Parma, Italy, for EFSA’s 10th anniversary, in parallel to EFSA's official celebrations. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has come under criticism over the influence of industry and the effect this has on the Authority's independence. There have even been suggestions of regulatory capture.
Monsanto launched a PR offensive to try to spread doubt about a study published two days ago by French scientist Gilles-Éric Séralini: the study showed that the biotech giant's flagship herbicide, Roundup, and one the GM maizes produced by the firm, NK603, are having disastrous effects on rats' health when those are studied during their lifetime and not over the industry-favoured 90 days.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published an ‘external evaluation’ report of the organisation carried out by international consultancy and auditing company Ernst & Young. EFSA proudly presented the conclusions of the report at a press conference in Brussels. EFSA is obliged by its founding regulation to commission an external evaluation of its achievements every six years.
Earth Open Source and Corporate Europe Observatory have written to EFSA's executive director about undeclared current activities with ILSI by an EFSA panel member. EFSA has so far not acted on this case, which sheds doubts on the implementation of EFSA's new independence rules. Not declaring such activities was in contradiction to the former rules, too.
The programme focuses on the sugar industry lobby, and the EFSA nutrition panel. This panel wrote in an opinion that there is no proven link between sugar and obesity. Something also claimed by the sugar industry.
Mella Frewen, lobby chief at food industry lobbygroup FoodDrinkEurope (previously known as the CIAA) and former Monsanto employee was on the list of 14 potential candidates, from which 7 will have to be selected to replace half of the EFSA management board members this summer. Frewen has been the chief lobbyist at FDE since 2007 where she actively lobbied for instance to allow contamination of the food chain with genetically engineered plants which were not authorised in Europe.
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Corporate Europe Observatory
Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is a research and campaign group working to expose and challenge the privileged access and influence enjoyed by corporations and their lobby groups in EU policy making.
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