The European Food Safety Authority has asked its chair, Diána Bánáti, to step down after she took up a role with a pro-GM group.
The EFSA said it requested Bánáti’s resignation on Tuesday (8 May) after discovering that she had taken up a “professional position” with International Life Sciences Institute.
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It is unclear when she took up the role or whether there was an overlap when she was both serving as ESFA chair and working for ILS. However, she had served on the ILS board until 2010. The EFSA was unavailable for comment on the issue.
“The code of conduct adopted by the EFSA management board obliges all members to consider possible public perception, in all facets of their professional and private life, in particular with regard to any activities which could raise doubts about their independence, even with respect to potential conflicts of interest,” the agency said in a statement.
