Climate change and food safety – EFSA survey
27 February 2018
Article: 52/0806
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) considers the identification of emerging food safety issues as an important part of its work. As climate change is increasingly reported as having an impact on all areas of food production, affecting EFSA’s scientific work, the agency has launched a new project: the CLEFSA project (Climate change and Emerging risks for Food Safety). CLEFSA is intended to develop a method for identifying emerging risks related to climate change. It is hoped that it will also allow EFSA to rank and prioritise risks in food and feed safety, plant and animal health. The survey is the first step and the goal is to collect a list of potential emerging issues. Anybody with an insight on this topic, from the broader scientific community to the general public, is invited to take part.
EFSA has also announced the opening of registration for a major scientific conference on the role of global change in the emergence of plant diseases and pests in Europe.
The conference, co-organised by EFSA, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) and the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) will take place in Paris from 23-24 April 2018.
It will bring together researchers, public decision-makers and stakeholders to discuss how best to assess and manage plant health risks arising from global change.
The concept of ‘global change’ goes beyond global warming and includes other planet-wide phenomena caused by human activities such as the intensification of trade and modifications in production and consumer systems.