nutrition and food technology

hello, my name is claudia heppner. i am the head of food ingredients and packaging at efsa. we want scientists with high-calibre expertise in the fields of toxicology, chemistry and exposure assessment to apply now to this call. so why should you apply to join one of the efsa scientific panels? let's ask our current experts why they joined. so, iona, what do you gain in scientific terms by being an efsa panel member? claudia, i think i have gained a lot from being an efsa panel member. we discuss state of the art scientific data in multi-disciplinary groups so we learn the perspectives of other scientists. we also face the challenge of reaching decisions on the safety of chemicals on very limited data, on new approaches to chemical risk assessment and on new methodologies. all of this helps us to reach a conclusion on the risk of a chemical in order to provide the best possible advice to european decision-makers.

alicja, in your opinion, in which specialised fields does efsa require expertise? efsa requires experience in risk assessment of chemicals. for the ans panel the specific requirements are for specialists within toxicology, toxicological pathology, chemistry, dietary exposure, human nutrition and food technology. this is because we evaluate the safety of nutrient sources and food additives like colours, preservative or sweeteners such as aspartame. the cef panel needs these and more in its work on food flavourings, food contact materials and food enzymes. for example, in our current work on bisphenol a, we've required additional expertise on epidemiology and also on endocrinology. what other reasons are there for joining efsa's scientific panels? i think engaging with other scientific experts from across europe is very important. other aspects are sharing experience with scientists of other areas, learning about their work, and gaining mutual recognition.

my work at efsa is additionally important or of great benefit to my work at national level

because the ways of working at efsa can be used, can be applied to work at national level on food safety issues. besides the science and networking opportunities what else motivates you to work for efsa? the most important reason of all is making a difference to european food safety. contributing to the health and well-being of society and also meeting consumer safety concerns about food - after all scientists like me and my family, we are consumers as well.