Vittorio Silano, one of EFSA’s most longstanding and highly respected scientists, has died at the age of 80.

Vittorio had been a stalwart of EFSA since its inception, having served as chairman of the Scientific Committee from 2003 until 2012, as member of the Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) until 2014, and since then, as chairman of the Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes and Processing Aids (CEF/CEP).

Bernhard Url, EFSA’s Executive Director, said: “The EFSA family has lost one of its founding fathers. It is no exaggeration to say that without Vittorio Silano, EFSA would not be the organisation it is today. Vittorio helped build EFSA almost from scratch and dedicated much of his professional life to ensuring that it endured and flourished. We will miss him terribly.”

Vittorio was known across EFSA not just as a passionate, hard-working scientist but as a kind, thoughtful man – a real gentleman, as many often described him – who was generous with his time and happy to share his experience and knowledge with whoever needed or requested it. His balanced, calm approach to chairing meetings and debates was greatly admired.

Vittorio leaves behind countless friends at EFSA who will miss both his gentle nature and sharp scientific mind. Our thoughts are with his family.