European Food Safety Authority

EFSA | News

29 Νοεμβρίου 2023

Latest items

• Episode 12 – Toxic tastings: contaminants in food

  Come and sit at our table in this twelfth episode of “Science on the menu”.

• Smoke flavourings: Q&A with Wim Mennes, EFSA’s working group chair on flavourings

  Smoke flavourings serve as an alternative to traditional smoking, a long-standing practice used to preserve certain foods such as fish, meat, and dairy products. The smoking process also changes their flavour.

• Introducing TKPlate - food safety without animal testing?

  Historically, safety assessments of chemicals in food and feed (as well as for medicines, consumer products, industrial and other chemicals) have relied on evidence from animal experiments. This core practice in evaluating risks from chemicals has, by and large, ensured the safety of our food since the 1950s.

  However, society and scientists are increasingly questioning this practice, both for ethical and scientific reasons. We all want to reduce the suffering of the animals – improvements have been made in recent years thanks to promotion of the three Rs – to replace, reduce, and refine animal...

• One Health: EFSA joins forces with EU agencies

  EFSA and its sister agencies providing scientific advice on environment, public health and food safety have published a joint statement to express their common commitment to support the One Health agenda in Europe.

• Multi-country outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis in chicken meat and chicken meat products

  Between January and October 2023, 14 EU/EEA countries, the UK and the US reported 335 cases related to this outbreak. 

• Episode 11 – Material matters

  Come and sit at our table in this eleventh episode of “Science on the menu”.

• Vaccination of poultry against highly pathogenic avian influenza – Available vaccines and vaccination strategies
  Background to the scientific opinion

  • The European Union (EU) has experienced an epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild and domestic birds in recent years. 
  • Areas with dense populations of poultry farms are at particular risk of HPAI transmission.
  • Vaccination can be considered in addition to already implemented measures (e.g. surveillance, biosecurity and early detections) to prevent and control the spread of HPAI.

  What was EFSA asked to do?

  • The European Commission requested an overview of the available HPAI vaccines, their efficacy against currently circulating viruses and an...
• Avian influenza: EFSA recommends increased protection of farms from wild birds

  As the autumn migratory season starts, the protection of poultry and other farmed animals from wild birds should be prioritised. Biosecurity should be enhanced in fur animal farms.

• Episode 10 – From lab to fork

  Come and sit at our table in this tenth episode of “Science on the menu”.

• Plant pests on the horizon? New EFSA dashboard to spot them

  In collaboration with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES), EFSA systematically screens scientific literature and media sources to identify new, emerging, or recurring pests that may be a potential concern for EU territory. These horizon scanning activities feed into a monthly newsletter published in the EFSA Journal, which is shared with the European Commission and Member States’ plant health authorities to bolster the EU’s preparedness to address emerging plant health risks.

  
  The newly...