Concluding the meeting, the Chair Diána Bánáti thanked outgoing members of the Board[1], EFSA’s scientific experts, Executive Director and staff, and said: “Finding good players is easy, getting them to play as a good team is another story.”[2] “I believe we had built a good team”.

The document on the Stakeholder Platform updates the criteria for the selection of members to ensure an even broader representation of organisations with an interest in various sectors of the food and feed chain. The new terms of reference set the number of organisations making up the Platform at 24, widen participation by introducing observers to the meetings, and foresee the possibility to set up working groups on specific topics such as EFSA’s approach on public consultations and emerging risks.

The Board also agreed to prolong the existing membership of the Platform for one year, until the end of 2011, to allow existing members time to conclude their work. Membership renewal will take place in 2011.

Data collection The Board also heard proposals on future data collection activities, such as strengthening the breadth and comparability of data on food and feed safety across the EU in order to facilitate the work of risk assessors and support risk managers in making informed decisions to protect and promote consumer health. The proposals build on the progress made by EFSA with competent Member State organisations on data collection, harmonisation of data and reporting activities.

Fees The Board discussed the implications linked to EFSA’s charging of fees for its activities and noted the growing workload of the Authority which now devotes about 30% of its resources to the assessment of applications (e.g. safety of pesticides, safety and efficacy of feed additives, substantiation of health claims, and safety of GMOs). The discussions followed a presentation by the European Commission on comments received in the context of a public consultation gathering views on the possibility of enabling EFSA to receive fees in future. Although Board members are aware that the source of EFSA’s funding is a matter for the EU institutions, they emphasised the need for EFSA to be sufficiently funded to deliver independent and high-standard risk assessments to help policy makers with robust scientific advice. Members also stressed that the possible introduction of fees should not jeopardize the independence of the Authority.

More information on EFSA’s Stakeholder Platform