Bénédicte Vagenende
Head of Department ad interim & Head of Front-Desk & Workforce Planning Unit
Department/Unit: Risk Assessment A specialised field of applied science that involves reviewing scientific data and studies in order to evaluate risks associated with certain hazards. It involves four steps: hazard identification, hazard characterisation, exposure assessment and risk characterisation Services
Phone: +39 0521 036 511
Email address: Vagenende.Benedicte [at] efsa.europa.eu
Bénédicte Vagenende has been Head of EFSA’s Risk Assessment Services (ENABLE) Department ad interim since September 2025, while continuing to serve as Head of EFSA’s Front Desk and Workforce Planning Unit, a position she has held since 2022.
With more than 15 years of experience at EFSA, Bénédicte has held several leadership roles, including acting Head of the Pesticides Residues Unit, where she oversaw the unit’s reorganisation, introduced new processes to ensure compliance with the Transparency Regulation, and fostered stronger collaboration with other European agencies. She was also previously a Team Leader and Scientific Officer in the Pesticides Unit, coordinating the peer reviews of pesticide Substance used to kill or control pests, including disease-carrying organisms and undesirable insects, animals and plants risk assessments and ensuring the timely delivery of high-quality outputs aligned with EU legislation.
Before joining EFSA, Bénédicte worked in the private sector, gaining practical experience in the agro-food industry. She began her career as a scientific staff member at Ghent University’s Laboratory of Crop Protection, where she contributed to European and Flemish research projects on pesticide risk indicators, agricultural sustainability, and food safety communication.
Bénédicte holds a degree in Biochemical Engineering with a specialisation in Environmental Engineering and has built her career at the intersection of science, regulation, and management in the field of food safety.