EFSA

EFSA News

Public consultation on updating EFSA’s risk assessment guidance for nanomaterials in the food chain

EFSA has launched a public consultation for a scoping paper on updating guidance of risk assessment of nanomaterials and materials containing small/nano particles in the food chain. The scoping paper outlines the proposed approach for the update of 2021 EFSA Nano Guidance documents (EFSA Scientific Committee, 2021a;b). 

Interested parties are invited to submit their comments via the EFSA Connect portal on the following aspects; areas of revision, engagement activities, work plan and timelines. 

The deadline for submitting comments is 12 May 2025.

One Health WGS System for Foodborne Disease Outbreaks

As part of the new Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/179, EU Member States will be required to collect and share analytical data in investigations of foodborne disease outbreaks. To support this, EFSA together with the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) created the 'One Health WGS System', a data analytics tool designed to gather and analyse whole-genome sequencing data.

The system consists of two interconnected platforms, one hosted by EFSA and the other by ECDC. These platforms independently collect genomic sequencing data from each sector (human health and food safety) and generate profiles for cross-sectoral analysis. This helps to identify foodborne disease outbreaks and supports real-time investigations of multi-country outbreaks.

A video released by EFSA showcases how WGS data are used to combat foodborne disease outbreaks and explains how the ‘One Health WGS system’ works.

For further information, see the topic page on EFSA's website.

Upcoming EFSA Events

Webinar: Food Enzyme Intake Model (FEIM) Tool

• Date and time: 4 June 2025, 14:00 - 18:00 and 5 June 2025, 09:00 - 13:00 (CEST)
• Location: Online
• Objective: EFSA will run two identical webinars to provide an overview of the FEIM tool and explore its features. The webinars are intended for stakeholders interested in learning how to use the FEIM tool for calculation. Participation is limited to 30 people per session and will be subject to selection by EFSA.
• Deadline for registration: 15 May 2025, 12:00 (CEST)
• Further information and registration

Workshop: Risk assessment of nanomaterials and materials containing small/nanoparticles in the food and feed chain

• Date and time: 11-12 June 2025, 09:00 - 18:00 (CET)
• Location: Brussels, Belgium and online
• Objective: The workshop will present the proposed strategy for updating EFSA nano guidance documents, aiming to merge them into a single guidance. Stakeholders with expertise in nanotechnologies and risk asessors are welcome to register. Participation is limited to 80 attendees and is subject to selection by EFSA.
• Deadline for registration: 12 May 2025, 23:59 (CEST)
• Further information and registration

EFSA Grants and Procurement

EFSA regularly awards grants or subsidies for projects and activities that contribute to EFSA’s mission in the areas of data collection, preparatory work for scientific opinions, other scientific and technical assistance. Further information on EFSA Grants and EFSA Procurement.

Seconded National Experts Call 2025-2027

EFSA has launched a new call for Seconded National Experts (SNEs). As an SNE, professionals from national administrations will have the opportunity to contribute to EFSA’s work while gaining valuable expertise to bring back to their home institutions. The secondment is open to experts in various fields, from scientific risk assessment to communication and business support.

Interested professionals can read further information and apply via EFSA's website. 

BfR World Food Safety Almanac

The online BfR World Food Safety Almanac provides an overview of the administrative structures of various countries in food and feed safety. It is well structured database that enables effective collaboration between organisations working in the field of food safety. Currently, there are profiles from 37 countries in the online World Food Safety Almanac.