5th Roundtable with industry associations

EFSA annual exchange with registered food industry associations

The 5^th Roundtable with industry associations took place in Brussels on 13 June 2018. The meeting was open to the registered business and food industry associations and saw a wide participation from the sector. Out of the 62 registered industry associations 29 attended and participated to the discussion. 11 registered industry associations joined the roundtable for the first time.

The open debate touched upon several topics. Some as a follow up to previous years’ meetings and some others tabled for discussion for the first time due to their relevance, as in the case for the General Food Law revision.

Participants discussed the main reasons for reaching inconclusive opinions, initiatives in support to applicants and the new administrative guidance for the processing of applications for regulated products. They exchanged their views on pre-submission meetings, on how to improve engagement opportunities (with the Stakeholders Engagement Approach progresses, discussion groups and food ingredients survey). EFSA’s open data activities and EFSA’s work under request for public access to documents were also presented.

EFSA will meet industry representatives next year in Parma to continue improving the dialogue on administrative, scientific and communication issues and encourage mutual understanding of the various points of views.