YOUR OPINION

Are nuts fattening?

• Yes
• No
• I don’t know

 

Parma (Italy), 22 June 2010

The INC has recently attended the EFSA Stakeholder Consultative Platform Meeting, held in Parma, Italy, on June 22nd, 2010. Ms. Geslain-Lanéelle, EFSA Executive Director, presented the recent output of EFSA’s various Scientific Panels:

• - CONTAM Panel (Contaminants in the food chain): adoption of an opinion on lead in food, melamine and ochratoxin A.
  


• - DATEX Panel: adoption of a report on the exposure of young children to lead, chromium, selenium and food colors.
  


• - NDA (Dietetic products, nutrition and allergies): organization of the technical meeting with stakeholders on recent developments related to health claims.
  


• - PRAPeR (Pesticide risk assessment peer review): adoption of 11 pesticide peer review conclusion reports; adoption of 18 reasoned opinions regarding 21 routine MRL applications; and issuing of one urgent EFSA statement on chlormequat in Indian table grapes.

EFSA is to issue new guidance on submissions for food additive evaluations, which will clarify administrative, technical and biological and toxicological data requirements for application dossiers, by July 2011.

The re-evaluation process of food additives is based on Commission Regulation 257/2010, and involves the issue of a public call for data on preservatives and antioxidants, and emulsifiers, stabilizers and gelling agents.

EFSA aims to finalize the re-evaluation of food colors by 2010; preservatives and antioxidants by 2013; remaining food colors before 2015; miscellaneous food additives by 2016; emulsifiers, stabilizers and gelling agents by 2018; and sweeteners by 2020.

Mr. Djien Liem, Head of the Scientific Committee and Advisory Forum Unit, provided an overview of the activities of an internal taskforce, which was created earlier this year with the aim of identifying trends and developments in the assessment of the health risks presented by endocrine active substances (EAS); identifying risk communication and risk perception issues; and drafting a technical report clarifying the state-of-play regarding EAS. Mr. Nico van Belzen, International Life Sciences Institute, argued that EAS are extremely potent; however, they only cause harm when a certain threshold is exceeded, which means that a safe limit can be established.