Multi-Actor Policy Brief EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RISK ASSESSORS AND RISK MANAGERS: CURRENT AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

The EU General Food Law (GFL) Regulation (EC) 178/2002 establishes the principles of risk analysis in relation to food safety and its three inter-related components: risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication. Reflecting on citizens' perception of the risk assessment process, the new Transparency Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/1381) introduced new provisions on risk communication, the public disclosure of scientific data and information supporting requests for authorisations or for approvals of regulated products as well as other requests for scientific output, and the possibility for the Commission to request EFSA to commission scientific studies with the objective of verifying evidence used in its risk assessment process.The proposal for a legislative framework for sustainable food systems, foreseen to be published in September 2023, aims to mainstream sustainability in all present and future EU policies and legislation impacting the food system. It will establish sustainability objectives and principles that should be consistent with the provisions and objective of the GFL.In a dialogue with high-level experts from science, policy and society with expertise in risk assessment, management and communication, the following question was discussed:How will the relationship between risk assessors (RA) and risk managers (RM) evolve in view of new Food Safety scenarios in Europe?