Food Safety Watch

EFSA has developed a tool to help food business operators decide when to apply the ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ date to their products.The ‘use by’ date on food is about safety – foods can be eaten until this date but not after, even if they look and smell fine. ‘Best...

Genome editing techniques that modify the DNA of plants do not pose more hazards than conventional breeding or techniques that introduce new DNA into a plant, an EFSA assessment concludes.The scientific opinion focuses on plants produced using different genome editing...

The risk of avian influenza moving into previously unaffected European countries is high, according to an update published today by EFSA which shows that the virus is spreading rapidly across the continent.Within the past month more than 300 cases have been reported...

EFSA’s social scientists have completed a draft assessment of risk communication theory and best practice. The work will support the European Commission implement a new provision of the 2019 Transparency Regulation, namely a ‘General plan for risk communication’ on EU...

EFSA’s animal health specialists have contributed to a rapid assessment of the risks to human health from the new SARS-CoV-2 variants related to mink. The assessment, published today by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, contains a number of...

EFSA’s existing guidelines for the risk assessment of genetically modified animals are adequate for evaluating risks associated with gene drive modified insects. However, further guidance is needed for some areas, such as molecular characterisation, environmental risk...

EFSA has completed its series of assessments on Rift Valley fever (RVF) with a scientific opinion looking at the effectiveness of surveillance and control measures in the EU.The latest opinion follows two opinions published earlier this year which assessed...

EFSA has published an assessment of the welfare of cattle at slaughter, based on the most up-to-date scientific studies and research. The scientific opinion is the latest in a series on the welfare of animals at slaughter requested by the European Commission. It...

EU countries are being urged to step up surveillance and biosecurity measures to guard against possible new outbreaks of avian influenza this year.The warning follows outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) among wild and domestic birds in western Russia...

EFSA has set a new safety threshold for the main perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, that accumulate in the body. The threshold – a group tolerable weekly intake (TWI) of 4.4 nanograms per kilogram of body weight per week – is part of a scientific opinion on the risks...