Work Plan Committed to ensuring that Europe s food is safe

Transcription

1 0 Work Plan Committed to ensuring that Europe s food is safe

2 Workplan 2009 EFSA in 2009, ready to play its part in protecting European consumers. 9 EFSA will continue to ensure that its customers the European Commission, the European Parliament and Member States and stakeholders can access the best scientific advice at the right time via appropriate communication channels. EFSA s recently adopted strategic plan will help ensure the Authority is even better equipped to keep pace with change. Change in policies, change in science and emerging risks from a changing world will all have to be considered. Globalisation and climate change will reinforce the importance of EFSA continuing to cooperate across Europe and to pursue even stronger international ties in risk assessment. Demands on EFSA will continue to grow, in particular in relation to pesticides, nutrition, food improvement agents, and food and feed additives. To meet these demands, EFSA will strive to enhance its quality and delivery, working methods and internal organisation. It will continue to develop its policies to work independently, transparently and openly. In 2009, EFSA, in its seventh year of operation, will have matured - its budgetary resources and anticipated end-of-year workforce of 460 staff will mean that all operational areas will be fully equipped to meet the rising workload. Membership of EFSA s Scientific Committee and 8 of its 10 Scientific Panels will have been renewed. In addition, the Authority will ensure that the workload is efficiently managed so that it can meet its targets. Communication will continue to be central to all of EFSA s activities. It will focus on promoting coherence in risk communications across the European Union (EU), enhancing clarity of its communications and increase the recognition of the scientific work of EFSA s experts. Specifically, in 2009, EFSA will: 1. Ensure the effective delivery of timely, highquality scientific advice; 2. Strengthen its scientific outputs through quality assurance measures self, internal and external review, and the use of an integrated approach when giving advice; 3. Make further progress in EFSA s strategy for cooperation and networking including harmonising approaches across the EU and consolidating EU-wide data collection; 4. Strengthen its capacity to identify emerging risks; 5. Develop and start implementing a strategic approach to its international activities.

3 Scientific highlights from EFSA s 2009 work programme Conduct risk assessments and provide scientific advice - Advise on nutrition and health claims - Advise on dietary reference values - More advice on nanotechnology risks - Evaluate pest risk assessments carried out by Member States - Develop a horizontal approach to antimicrobial resistance - Identify genetic factors affecting the welfare of broilers - Continue to provide scientific advice to guide risk management measures on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) - Assess the public health impact of food contaminants and non-desirable substances in animal feed - Advise on the authorisation of coccidiostats and additives for use in animal nutrition - Implement quantitative risk assessment on foodborne zoonoses - Finalise the evaluation of nutrient sources used in food supplements and continue re-evaluation of food colours, and new food additives - Finalise the evaluation of flavourings already on the market Enhance risk assessment methodologies - Develop and promote harmonised risk assessment approaches - Foster cooperation between Member States and EFSA through national Focal Points, the database of scientific experts, and the Article 36 network - Increase the visibility of EFSA s scientific work and exchange scientific information - Develop and maintain monitoring procedures for identifying emerging risks - Collect, analyse and present data on food consumption, food composition and hazardous chemicals in food and feed - Harmonise data collection methods and improve the comparability of Member State information on zoonotic and biological agents - Further develop and maintain the database on toxicological reference values of active substances; the evaluation of maximum residue levels (MRLs); and the Annual Report on Pesticide Residues - Harmonise scientific approaches and methods for assessing the risks of GMOs and update guidance on GMO risk assessments - Develop and update European Guidance Documents on plant protection products and their residues

4 Workplan Supporting the science In 2009, scientific outputs are expected to grow threefold compared to the 400 in To keep pace, while maintaining EFSA s high standards, the Authority will further strengthen its in-house capacity to provide scientific and analytical support for risk assessment, as well as streamline working practices and prioritise tasks to meet its targets while working with risk managers such as the Commission. Stronger scientific support EFSA will increase support for risk assessment by further enhancing its data collection, exposure assessments, and statistical and other modelling techniques. This will draw on data on food consumption, chemical and microbiological occurrence, and food composition, representing the European consumer. It will continue to develop and promote harmonised risk assessment approaches across the EU while also fostering a culture of cooperation between EFSA and Member States, including in the exchange of scientific information. Stronger networks EFSA s capacity to identify and assess emerging risks will also be enhanced through improved monitoring and a new Europe-wide network. Internationally, EFSA will strive to remain up to date on the science of risk assessment to ensure that it can contribute to, and influence, global developments. More resources To achieve this, EFSA will boost the support needed to deliver its scientific opinions, advice and statements. In practice this means more staff, more external experts, and more money for outsourcing work to support the Panels through contracts and grants. And in some key units staffing will significantly grow to keep in step with rising workloads. Members of the Scientific Committee and 8 of the 10 Panels will also be renewed in Better processes EFSA will also further improve the efficiency of its internal processes. All mandates will be assessed through the Mandate Review Committee and, where appropriate, joint activities developed among Panels and experts. A system of external review will be applied and standard operating procedures used.

5 2. Cooperation with Member States While EFSA is the keystone of EU food and feed safety risk assessments, it is the Member States that provide the crucial support for Europe s food safety structure. This calls for mutual cooperation for Europe to be further developed. In this spirit, EFSA will strengthen cooperation with Member States. It will share expertise and avoid duplication of effort by implementing EFSA s strategy for cooperation and networking with Member States. EFSA s Advisory Forum will continue to meet regularly to exchange and share relevant material, and views, on matters of mutual interest. It will also monitor how EFSA implements the cooperation and networking strategy. Together with Member States, EFSA will work towards harmonising risk assessment approaches. It will also roll-out a programme for identifying emerging issues Europe-wide. Closer networking EFSA will continue to reach out to Member States by building or consolidating dedicated networks and working groups, collaborating on data collection and specific scientific issues. With support from the Focal Point network, EFSA will leverage the expertise available in Article 36 institutions - organisations nominated by Member States that can assist EFSA in its activities. This will enable it to outsource preparatory work through contracts and grants worth around 4.1 m, boosting the Authority s capacity to provide scientific advice. EFSA will use an electronic platform to enable it and Member States to exchange risk assessment and other scientific information amongst themselves.

6 3. Partners and Stakeholders EFSA will continue to forge strong ties with its partners and stakeholders in This will help EFSA ensure its work remains relevant, timely, responsive and accurate. Active partners EFSA will maintain close and regular contact with the European Commission and the European Parliament. It will provide them with timely and comprehensive information on EFSA s activities. This will enable Europe s risk managers make informed decisions derived from advice based on the best and latest scientific information available. It will work closely with the Czech Republic and Sweden, the two countries holding the EU Presidency in The Authority will also strengthen cooperation with other European agencies, in particular EEA, EMEA, ECHA and ECDC, and with international organisations. In 2009 it will also Chair the European Agencies Network. Stakeholder involvement EFSA will continue to have open dialogue with stakeholders that are active in the areas within EFSA s remit, in particular through the Stakeholder Consultative Platform and related working groups. The Authority will strive to ensure stakeholders receive timely information and will consult them when appropriate on its activities. The global dimension In addition, EFSA will work closely with international organisations (WHO, FAO, Codex Alimentarius, OIE, OECD, IPPC, EPPO etc.), as well as organisations from third countries, and neighbouring and acceding European countries. As a matter of priority, it will establish close contacts with Agencies or Organisations outside the EU in order to identify emerging risks and to share information and best practices. It will also implement an enhanced strategic approach to its international activities, once adopted. EFSA at a glance 1200 external scientific experts Almost 1000 scientific opinions adopted Over 400 staff members Advisory Forum network: 27 Member States plus 3 observer countries

7 4. Communications and dialogue Coherence, simplicity and visibility will continue to be the bywords for EFSA s communications in EFSA will move further towards highlighting the impact and benefits of its work, making the European food safety system as accessible as possible, bringing its institutions and mechanisms to life. Promoting coherence EFSA will continue to cooperate closely with relevant authorities at national, European and international level to ensure coherence in communications. Concretely, it will exchange and share information, and develop best practice through the Advisory Forum Communications Working Group, a key vehicle for enhancing cooperation between EFSA and Member States. It will create customised messages and tools to facilitate outreach, and to support national food safety authorities and Focal Points. It will work with its partners towards creating a better understanding of the public s perception of food safety and nutrition issues and the impact of communications activities. It will also coordinate communications with the European Commission and Member States to better explain to EU citizens the EU food safety system and its benefits through joint events on issues of mutual interest, shared web content, newsletter supplements etc. Ensuring simplicity and clarity Better understanding comes from simplicity, clarity, transparency and accessibility. To this end, EFSA will continue to create customised messages and tools to meet different audience needs, including making more material available multilingually and increasing the use of online multimedia content. EFSA will further develop its media relations strategy and continue media training in communications for EFSA scientists to help them deliver more effective, user-friendly messages. Raising awareness and visibility To help EFSA become globally recognised it also needs to increase the visibility of its work so that the work of its experts is recognised. EFSA will, therefore, showcase its work at major scientific conferences, organise events, develop new products and publications, bolster its presence on the web and elevate the status of the EFSA Journal where all EFSA opinions are published so that its outputs are included in key bibliographic databases. Together such initiatives will help promote EFSA s work among the international scientific community, stakeholders and the wider public.

8 TM-AG EN-C MANAGEMENT BOARD SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE & ADVISORY FORUM D. Liem EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & MANAGEMENT BOARD G. Gizzi STRATEGY & PROSPECTIVE C. Majewski INTERNAL AUDIT D. Caira QUALITY MANAGEMENT A. Van Impe ADMINISTRATION A. Maviel-Sonet RISK ASSESSMENT R. Maijala SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION & ASSISTANCE H. Deluyker COMMUNICATIONS A.-L. Gassin Data Protection C. Reunis FINANCE F. Monnart IT & Operations post accepted ANIMAL HEALTH & WELFARE (AHAW) J. Serratosa Vilageliú FEED ADDITIVES (FEEDAP) C. Roncancio Peña ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY (AMU) D. Verloo (ad interim) PESTICIDES (PRAPeR) H. Fontier PRESS OFFICE S. Pagani HUMAN RESOURCES N. Le Gourierec LEGAL & POLICY AFFAIRS D. Detken FOOD ADDITIVES & NUTRIENT SOURCES (ANS) H. Kenigswald GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS (GMO) P. Bergman (ad interim) DATA COLLECTION & EXPOSURE (DATEX) S. Fabiansson SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION (SCO) B. Berger PUBLIC INFORMATION & EVENTS (PIE) C. Buller ACCOUNTS P. Pinhal LIBRARY & ARCHIVES M. Nocca BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS (BIOHAZ) M. Hugas NUTRITION (NDA) J. Kleiner EMERGING RISKS (EMRISK) R. Reintjes ZOONOSES (Data Collection) P. Makela WEB Y. Gamming FOOD CONTACT MATERIALS, ENZYMES, FLAVOURINGS (CEF) A. Feigenbaum PLANT HEALTH (PLH) E. Ceglarska Directorate Unit Section CONTAMINANTS (CONTAM) C. Heppner PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCTS (PPR) M. Dunier-Thomann Largo N. Palli 5/A Parma Italy Tel: Fax: