Abstract

This research report was commissioned by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to provide an independent review of the Authority's risk communication activities in relation to the safety of food in four cases: GMOs; BSE in goats; mercury in wild and farmed fish; and semicarbazide in baby food. The review first outlines the historical context to communicating food risks in Europe before setting out three fundamental principles for effectively communicating risk. These principles concern: creating appropriate risk communication channels; the credibility of communications; and the efficient delivery of decision relevant information. These principles are used to develop normative criteria against which to evaluate EFSA's risk communications for each of the four cases. The review concludes by providing a number of key recommendations to help EFSA further improve and professionalize the Authority's risk communication activities.