Judging by the workload facing the new European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), a move to Europe could be a smart decision for scientists looking for long-term job security.

Judging by the workload facing the new European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), a move to Europe could be a smart decision for scientists looking for long-term job security.

Under a decision by the European Parliament, EFSA will begin setting maximum permitted pesticide residue limits (MRLs) for food in 2005, yet another addition to the agency’s burgeoning portfolio.

Currently, decisions on EU-wide MRLs are taken by the European Commission on advice from specialist committees largely nominated by state governments. Since 1976, the experts have been toiling their way through the list of foods and likely contact substances. Consensus is elusive when it comes to reconciling old national MRLs which reflect distinctive dietary patterns or systems of food production. To date, the system has still not reached the half-way stage in the list of commonly consumed foods, according to Food Safety Commissioner David Byrne. ’This means that for most substances and commodities, 15 national sets of rules apply,’ Byrne told the parliament.

EFSA work on MRLs will proliferate both as a result of EU enlargement and because ’safety’ issues are becoming ever more complex. Byrne foresees that EFSA will be ’deeply involved’ in issues such as immunotoxicity, endocrine disruption, and cumulative risk assessments. According to the commissioner these are ’emerging issues where regulatory science is still trying to catch up with the latest advances in research’.

EFSA is currently looking for specialists in animal health and welfare; plant protection products; biohazards; food additives; animal feed; GMOs; dietetic products, and contaminants. The good news for those seeking warmer climes is that the EFSA, after a start-up phase in Brussels, will be located in sunny Parma, home of the eponymous Italian ham.

Arthur Rogers