The European Parliament demands stricter regulation of conflicts of interest at EU's food safety authority | Corporate Europe Observatory

The European Parliament demands stricter regulation of conflicts of interest at EU's food safety authority | Corporate Europe Observatory:

 In reaction to numerous conflicts of interest scandals at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Parliament today voted for a resolution1 to ban scientists with ties to the agriculture and food industries from working at the agency. The Parliament urges the EFSA to introduce “a two-year cooling-off period to all material interests related to the commercial agrifood sector”, a measure which would considerably improve the food agency's tarnished reputation and compromised integrity.

The European Parliament called the existing procedure for screening EFSA experts' interests “burdensome”, “subject to criticism”, and inadequate to “dispel fears about the Authority’s expert impartiality”, and while it did acknowledge the “progress” that a 2011 reform policy had brought about, it nevertheless questioned this attempt at reform's “credibility and effectiveness”.