The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) admits it needs to step up and work faster to meet the needs of industry, telling us it’s working closely with the European Commission and stakeholders in this direction.
This comes after food manufacturers and ingredients suppliers, among others, criticised the agency’s assessment processes, which they say puts industry at a “competitive disadvantage” on the world stage.
Why is the food industry criticising EFSA?
Industry’s reproach comes amid the Commission’s evaluation of EFSA’s performance, due next year. With Europe’s food agency under review, members of the food and beverage industry have spoken out about the way it runs.
A primary criticism is that EFSA’s evaluation processes, which include ‘novel foods’ assessments, take too long. This makes applying to EFSA a costly experience for industry, made worse by a much heavier administrative burden.
Industry also raised concerns that regulatory submission processes are becoming more complex.
The overall impact of an inefficient system is that Europe is at a “competitive disadvantage”, they say in an open letter to EFSA.
But industry isn’t just raising problems - it’s offering solutions too. Several suggestions have been made, mostly around reshaping EFSA’s Transparency Regulation to not only help Europe stay competitive, but also reduce reliance on other regions.
Could changes to EU food law be on the horizon?
EFSA knows a fit-for-purpose system is required to ensure food is safe, and that assessment processes support competition, innovation, and a sustainable food system.
The food agency also acknowledges that as the scientific complexity of food safety applications - including for those considered novel foods, such as cell-cultivated meat or precision fermentation-derived dairy - increases, it’s facing “growing challenges” in ensuring its assessments are delivered on time.
So from EFSA’s point of view, what changes could be made to speed up its assessment processes?
The food agency is always on the lookout for ways to streamline its processes and use its resources in the most impactful way, we’re told. But bigger potential solutions also exist - including regulatory reform.
“We see the potential for important improvements, some of which would require changes to EU legislation, such as allowing earlier and more meaningful interaction with applicants to improve the quality of applications,” an EFSA spokesperson explains.
The next step in EFSA’s evaluation process
The Commission started initial work on evaluating EFSA’s performance last year, including a call for industry feedback.
A more formal 12-week public consultation ended in April of this year. A survey was also launched to gather views on EFSA’s in-depth technical and policy aspects. National authorities, EFSA staff members, business operators and consumer groups were invited to take part.
All this will help inform the Commission’s evaluation of EFSA’s performance, due by March 2026.
“We look forward to the recommendations of the external evaluation, which will be based to a large extent on stakeholder input, and which will feed into the decisions by the European Commission on possible legislative changes,” says the EFSA spokesperson.
