Annual Report 2014

2014 has been another busy year in which EFSA delivered a significant programme of scientific work and embarked upon a series of rolling projects that will help take the Authority to new levels of efficiency, innovation and transparency. From acrylamide to zoonoses, EFSA’s work during this period has covered a breadth of food safety issues. These have included leading work on the potential risks of antimicrobial resistant pathogens, providing an emergency response to the Ebola crisis, outbreaks of hepatitis A, avian flu and African Swine Fever, as well as scheduled work assessing the risks of, and claims made for, regulated products. More than 500 scientific outputs have contributed to evidence-based decisions and improved consumer protection. Collaboration has been a key theme over the past twelve months. This has included working with other EU agencies, including the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), as well as enhanced co-operation with international agencies. Improved co-ordination of work with Member States has been a particular focus and is at the core of EFSA’s drive to build a European risk assessment community with a shared agenda and purpose. Throughout the year EFSA consulted with national authorities and risk assessment agencies, established research projects to fill knowledge gaps, exchanged experts, and hosted a series of joint conferences and meetings. A new multiannual programme of international cooperation activities was adopted to harness this momentum over the coming years. Openness and engagement have also been at the heart of EFSA’s approach. EFSA has been committed to transparency and engagement with all of its stakeholders since its establishment. Scientific work has been progressively opened up to greater scrutiny. In 2014 this was taken even further with the establishment of the Open EFSA initiative and the Scientific Data Warehouse.