The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has rebuffed claims from a commercial transparency campaign group that its expert panels are biased towards food manufacturers.
Brussels-based Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) released detailed claims about the alleged close links between EFSA’s Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources Added to Food (ANS) and the food industry.
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It said the claims posed “serious questions about the independence of the advice provided”. The group highlighted EFSA’s recent positive opinion on sweetener aspartame, and The European Commission’s subsequent ordering of a safety review as meriting concern.
However, an EFSA spokesperson said: “We safeguard the independence of our scientific advice but…when you give advice about an additive – these are produced by the industry – you must have experience or relationships with the industry.” She said EFSA had transparent declarations about potential conflicts of interest, so affected panel members abstained from particular debates or assessments.
The observatory, however, claims EFSA’s safeguards are too weak and wants them to mirror those of the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Indeed, EFSA today launched a public consultation of potential changes to its decision making independence safeguards.
