The meeting was attended by over 50 stakeholders ((17) DOC 74) representing seven different categories. After a plenary session, participants attended three parallel workshops where they discussed in more depth specific aspects of EFSA’s work, for example, transparency, quality of data and clear communication.
The Forum also allowed for the announcement of the members to the Stakeholder Bureau. This is a new structure for EFSA’s engagement with stakeholders made up of one representative from each of the seven stakeholder categories; Consumers (BEUC), NGOs (Pesticide Action Network Europe), Farmers and primary producers (COPA-COGECA, Pekka Pesonen), Business and food industry (ECPA), Distributors and HORECA (EuroCommerce), Practitioners (European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians), Academia Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Europe–SETAC). The Bureau – chaired by EFSA’s Executive Director Bernhard Url – will provide high-level input to EFSA regarding societal concerns on health, environment, food production and other issues in the Authority’s remit. The Bureau will act as a guardian of balanced representation of views and monitor the actions EFSA takes as a result of the Forum. The first meeting of the Bureau will take place in September 2017.
Alongside the annual Forum and the Bureau, stakeholder groups will have the opportunity to engage with EFSA through a number of permanent and targeted activities throughout the year, organised according to their interests and expertise. These include discussion groups on particular topics, roundtables, info sessions and working groups. The new approach forms part of EFSA’s efforts to prioritise public and stakeholder involvement in the process of risk assessment.