Workshop on protein safety assessments in food and feed – Alternative methods and approaches | Register now!

Background

Protein safety assessment is a cornerstone for the evaluation of innovative food and feed. The scientific community has repeatedly highlighted the need to modernise these strategies and the tools that support them, to maintain high standards of consumer protection. As scientific innovation accelerates, so does the need for robust and predictive tools that can streamline risk evaluation processes.

This workshop follows the publication of the scientific opinion on the safety assessment of newly expressed proteins in genetically modified plants, adopted by the GMO Panel in July 2025, and the outcome of several EFSA procurements on protein safety published in the last two years (allergenicity, toxicity in silico, toxicity in vitro, processing, adverse outcome pathway, celiac disease, open reading frames).

Objectives of the meeting

The aim of the event is to raise awareness and to define key recommendations and implementation needs related to protein safety assessments. EFSA will publish a summary of the event’s outcomes, including forecasts for future implementation steps in the field. These may include recommendations for further research, the creation of consortia to support cross-functional collaboration and actions to advance implementation in the risk assessment.

The draft agenda includes lectures as well as breakout room discussions, organised into three thematic groups:

• Group 1 – will discuss history of safe use (HoSU)/read-across/familiarity concepts relevant for protein safety as well as in silico tools used in the field.
• Group 2 – will discuss about in vitro and in vivo studies that could be used for protein safety assessment.
• Group 3 – will discuss regulatory links to protein safety assessment across regulatory frameworks (including GMOs, food enzymes, plant protection products, others).

To facilitate the organisation of the breakout sessions, participants will be asked to indicate their preference in one or more of these topics during the registration process.

Who should attend?

This workshop is free of charge and open to individuals with expertise, knowledge, or interest in protein safety assessments. Participants who are willing to contribute to discussions on development needs, challenges, and recommendations in this field are especially encouraged to join.

While most of the discussions will focus on protein safety related to genetically modified organisms (GMOs), several topics may also be relevant to other domains, such as novel foods and food enzymes. In addition, a dedicated breakout group will address the specific considerations of non-GMO areas, such as microbial pesticides.

Registration form

The registration form can be found here. 

The deadline for registration is 07 November 2025 at 12.00 CET.  

Your participation will be confirmed via e-mail after the registration closure. 

EFSA will confirm a maximum of 300 participants and reserves the right to screen registration to ensure representation of the various fields of expertise, as well as representation of stakeholder groups and geographical balance.

Allocation to the breakout sessions for the 13th of November will be communicated few days prior to the workshop, together with the links to attend the event, after registration closure and once the screening will be completed.

Note: At registration, you will be requested to fill-in a survey to better define the drivers for each debate. You will also be asked for your interest in contributing to the discussions of any specific breakout room. The distribution to the breakout sessions will be communicated few days before the workshop, after closure of the registrations together with the links to attend the event. 

Organisational details

The event will take place online over two consecutive half-days, from 14:00 to 17:00 on 12 and 13 November 2025. In-person participation is not foreseen; however, both written and oral interactions with the audience will be facilitated throughout the two half-days’ workshop.

The online workshop will be conducted in English. Please note that no interpretation will be provided.

Contact

Do not hesitate to contact the organising committee at webinars [at] efsa.europa.eu (webinars[at]efsa[dot]europa[dot]eu) for more information.