On July 18, 2018, the European Parliament’s (EP) Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) published a draft report on the proposal for a regulation of the EP and of the Council on the transparency and sustainability of the EU risk assessment in the supply chain (in German). The draft report comments on the proposal by the European Commission (EC) that is amending nine existing regulations, including Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 on food contact materials (FCMs) (FPF reported). Concerning the FCM regulation, the rapporteur of the ENVI Committee, Renate Sommer, suggests waiting with the publication of scientific data, studies and other information supporting applications for authorization until the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) publishes its scientific opinions. Otherwise, there could be a risk that competitors will have access to information about innovative product ideas or manufacturing processes. There could also be a risk of political interference in the risk assessment process.
Several points of the proposal by the EC are criticized in the EP’s draft report, including the lack of impact assessment, the date of the EC proposal, and the procedure on how to select members of scientific panels. The rapporteur further suggests harmonizing the transparency rules between EFSA and other European agencies and clarifying several detailed matters of the proposal to allow its evaluation.
The deadline for tabling amendments is September 11, 2018.
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