Research & Innovation (R&I) offers opportunities for delivering robust and independent evidence to underpin policy-making. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the European Green Deal and the Farm-to-Fork Strategy all call for research that is impactful and delivers outcomes for the society, the environment and the economy.

To respond to these calls and to counter global health threats of the 21st century, such as those linked to zoonotic and (re)emerging infectious diseases, climate change and environmental sustainability, we need to move towards a One Health approach. R&I supports current risk assessment needs in the food chain (e.g. food safety, animal health, plant health), demonstrating the importance of investment in R&I.

Therefore, the AF welcomed the second RARA and its objectives to continue building the wider food safety risk assessment ecosystem, to discuss how food safety research can best support the SDGs and relevant European policies, and to foster complementarity of food safety R&I investments at European, regional and national level.

EFSA and members of the AF declared their commitment to supporting the European Research Area, by:

• facilitating research that will inform science for regulatory purposes and support food safety policies
• reinforcing EFSA national Focal Points’ research engagement
• interacting with the wider risk assessment community.

The AF invites the European Commission and national funding programmes and research policy makers to make active use of this large food safety knowledge ecosystem. Furthermore, EFSA and the AF call for pro-active involvement of risk assessors, including EFSA and the national food agencies, in the programming of future research agendas.

The full statement can be read here.

More information on the second Risk Assessment Research Assembly, held on 7 December 2022, can be found on this link.