Millions of Europeans make choices about food every day.
The European Food Safety Authority or EFSA helps protect consumers from
food-related risks by providing independent scientific advice to the
decision makers who regulate food safety.
Europe’s food comes from an ever-increasing number of sources
so care must be taken to ensure its safety.
Among the many areas of EFSA’s work,
three important examples include food-borne diseases, pesticides and health claims.
Across Europe, efforts are being made to reduce the levels
of food borne diseases transmitted from animals to humans.
For example, Salmonella bacteria that cause hundreds of thousands of cases
of food poisoning in Europe every year.
Member States collect data on the presence of the bacteria in food and animals.
EFSA’s scientific experts use this data to provide advice to
decision makers on the dangers posed to human health by Salmonella.
EFSA also makes recommendations on how to prevent and reduce these risks.
This expertise contributes to an EU-wide salmonella reduction programme
led by the European Commission that has cut the number of
human Salmonella cases by half in five years.
Pesticides are used to protect food crops
from pests and disease but using them safely requires regulation and control.
EFSA’s scientific experts review
and monitor data from Member States, industry and academic studies
on pesticide residues in food
and assess the risks from pesticides for consumers,
farm workers, animals and the environment.
EFSA’s recommendations have underpinned the setting of science-based
safety standards for pesticide residue levels in food.
Its work has contributed to removing hundreds of substances
used in pesticides from the market.
Food items often carry claims about their supposed health benefits,
but can consumers really trust the labels?
The independent experts working for EFSA have evaluated
the science behind more than three thousand health claims
to determine if they’re based on sound scientific evidence.
Authorities within the EU use this advice
to protect consumers from misleading claims
when drawing up rules for food labelling and advertising.
EU legislators will not authorise a claim
unless EFSA’s experts are satisfied that the claim
can be scientifically substantiated.
The way we produce and consume food is constantly changing
as a result of factors such as
advances in food technology,
climate change,
new eating habits
and the globalization of trade.
In this ever-changing environment
EFSA’s work helps to
ensure that our food is safe.