Call for expression of interest in EFSA’s advice for Food Additive SMEs and first-time applicants – 2026 edition
About the call
Following the publication of the Guidance on the scientific data requirement for an application for authorisation of a food additive, EFSA is launching a call for expressions of interest from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and first-time applicants in the area of food additives, who are interested in receiving EFSA’s advice on the application requirements for food additives authorisation in the EU market.
Objectives of the initiative
This initiative aims to raise awareness of and facilitate SMEs and first-time applicants access to the General Pre-Submission Advice (GPSA) service. This service can be requested at any time before the submission of an application. However, this call focuses on two key stages that may be particularly relevant for any SME and other applicants with no experience in preparing and submitting a food additive application:
- Early development stage, even before initiating the studies that will be part of the application.
- Final preparation stages, when most of the information that will be included in the application is available.
Confidentiality of provided information
Information submitted in response to the call, to request advice and during meetings will be treated as confidential. The only information EFSA will make publicly available is a summary of the advice, which will be released only if and when the application for authorisation subject to advice is declared valid, and alongside the non-confidential version of the application dossier.
Who should reply
This initiative is open to all SMEs and first-time applicants working in the area of food additives. This call defines first-time applicants as those potential applicants that do not qualify as SMEs and have not submitted any food additive application after the implementation of the Transparency Regulation on 27 March 2021.
Text of the call for expression of interest
We invite all interested SMEs to carefully read the full text of the call, which contains key information such as eligibility requirements and applicable timelines.
Submit your interest
The form to submit your interest can be found here.
Please note that the deadline for submissions is 21 May 2026 at 13:00 CEST.
Frequently asked questions
Please refer to the FAQ document for answers to common questions about the initiative.
Contact
If you have any questions or requests for assistance regarding this call, feel free to contact us via the Ask a Question service indicating in the subject “FAD Call 2026”.