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This meeting, which is attended by leading food safety experts and the responsible authorities, is an important information, knowledge and experience exchange platform about the potential direct and indirect risks in the areas of food and animal feed safety, animal health and welfare and plant health. The meeting in Latvia is organised by the Food Safety, Animal Health and Environmental Scientific Institute BIOR.
The purpose of the meeting is to facilitate scientific cooperation of the EU Member States and EFSA in food safety risk assessment. The range of issues for discussion at the meeting includes the issues of scientific cooperation of EFSA and EU Member States, including scientific project development and knowledge transfer promotion, the issues of the EFSA regional policy development with respect to Near Neighbour Countries of the EU as well as exchange of topical scientific information and database development and maintenance issues.
"Discussions during the European Food Safety Authority Advisory Forum will impact the areas of the EFSA mission most, namely the areas of food and animal feed safety, animal health and welfare and plant health," says Aivars Bērziņš, the Director of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environmental Scientific Institute BIOR, who is representing Latvia on the EFSA Advisory Forum.
The 56th meeting of the EFSA Advisory Forum will be attended by approximately 50 forum members from different European countries.
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
EFSA is the principal institution in the European Union performing scientific risk assessment in the areas of food and animal feed safety, animal health and welfare and plant health. The functions of EFSA include data collection and analysis as well as giving a scientific opinion in order to characterize the risk of having a direct or indirect impact on food and feed safety. EFSA, the European Commission and EU Member States are cooperating to facilitate effective and coordinated risk assessment, risk management and risk notification within the food chain.
The direct cooperation partner of EFSA in Latvia is the Food Safety, Animal Health and Environmental Scientific Institute BIOR, which is performing the functions of the EFSA national contact point based on the agreement entered into force on 24 January 2013. The EFSA national contact point is providing the exchange of information and cooperation between EFSA and scientific institutions in Latvia, is promoting EFSA activities and work results and is providing advice to the stakeholders as well as getting involved in risk factor research and the scientific risk assessment process and communication of the results.
