A special issue of the EFSA Journal, published on July 8, 2019, features proceedings of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) third Scientific Conference “Science, Food, Society,” that took place on September 18-21, 2018, in Parma, Italy (FPF reported). Slides and video recordings of conference presentations are also now available.
In a foreword to this special issue, EFSA’s executive director Bernhard Url said that the past conference has identified “new questions and challenges,” and that “cooperation, engagement with society and contribution to the achievement of the sustainable development goals will be EFSA’s pledge for the coming years.”
An editorial gave an overview of included articles, which cover e.g. “value-laden judgements” in risk assessment (FPF reported), management of scientific evidence and performance of “fit-for-purpose” risk assessments in food safety and human health (FPF reported), advancements in human health-focused science, use of “scenario analyses to address the future of food,” societal engagement in regulatory science (FPF reported), and current challenges in science communication.
The concluding remarks summarized that “EFSA should base scientific risk assessments on reliable science while capitalizing on scientific advances; address scientific uncertainties; and fully publish the evidence and data used.” Further, EFSA “should frame risk assessments through clear policy goals and problem formulation; be explicit about value judgements; communicate clearly and consistently and in coordination with risk assessors and risk managers; involve society; avoid conflicts of interest; and follow trustworthy processes.”
Read more
EFSA (2018). “EFSA conference 2018 – Science, Food, Society.”
References
Devos Y., Elliott K.C., Hardy A. (eds.) (2019). “Special Issue: Proceedings of the Third EFSA Scientific Conference: Science, Food and Society.” EFSA Journal 17(S1)
Bernhard Url (2019). “Foreword to Special Issue on EFSA third Scientific Conference ‘Science, Food, Society.’” EFSA Journal 17(S1): e170701
Massimiano Bucchi (2019). “Facing the challenges of science communication 2.0: Quality, credibility and expertise.” EFSA Journal 17(S1): E170702
Devos, Y., et al. (2019). “Editorial: Special Issue on EFSA’s third Scientific Conference ‘Science, Food , Society.’” EFSA Journal 17(S1): e170706
Tim Benton (2019). “Using scenario analyses to address the future of food.” EFSA Journal 17(S1): e170703
Cavalli, E., et al. (2019). “Managing evidence in food safety and nutrition.” EFSA Journal 17(S1): e170704
Devos, Y., et al. (2019). “Conducting fit-for-purpose food safety risk assessments.” EFSA Journal 17(S1): e170707
Kevin Elliott (2019). “Managing value-laden judgements in regulatory science and risk assessment.” EFSA Journal 17(S1): e170709
Susanne Hougaard Bennekou (2019). “Moving towards a holistic approach for human health risk assessment – Is the current approach fit for purpose?” EFSA Journal 17(S1): e170711
Lanzoni, A., et al. (2019). “Advancing human health risk assessment.” EFSA Journal 17(S1): e170712
Smith, A., et al. (2019). “Communicating to and engaging with the public in regulatory science.” EFSA Journal 17(S1): e170717
Verhagen, H., et al. (2019). “EFSA’s third Scientific Conference ‘Science, Food, Society’: concluding remarks.” EFSA Journal 17(S1): e170723
