I welcome the publication today of a report agreed by the Heads of National Food Agencies in Europe (HoA) that looks at how to ensure that risk assessments are used consistently and transparently in decisions on food safety in the EU.
To quote from the report:
‘The key principles for transparent use of risk assessment in decision making are clear, and are already set out in the Codex Working Principles for Risk Analysis for Food Safety for Application Governments (2007), which are widely supported. The challenge for all bodies involved in risk assessment and risk management is to ensure that these principles are applied consistently and transparently and that final decisions are properly communicated. A principal challenge is for risk management to develop and promote transparency and rigour in the decision-making process comparable to that in the risk assessment process, so that the basis for risk management and the information and analysis used in this is clear, rational and justifiable.’
The report recommends that national agencies share their experiences on developing and using frameworks for risk management, and that we ask the European Commission to start discussions with member states on the potential to develop such a framework at EU level.
Of course, it is perfectly legitimate to think about other factors – such as consumer and societal concerns, and impacts on industry and innovation – in making risk management decisions. But when we make or argue for decisions that diverge from the advice on risk, we must explain our reasons rather than making vague references to ‘scientific uncertainty’ and the ‘precautionary principle’.
The FSA helped to develop this report working with colleagues from national food agencies in Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. We’ll now help to develop the action plan and support its implementation.
I hope we can all agree that using risk assessment properly and explaining the basis for decisions more clearly is a good thing – even though we may differ on how well this has been done in specific cases – and I look forward to further discussion as we work to implement these recommendations.