Bernhard Url asked to stay at least another year as head of EFSA

6 months ago 29

After expressing dissatisfaction with the recruitment procedure led by the European Commission, the governing board of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) decided to reappoint Bernhard Url, director since 2014, to allow the process for the selection to restart and be completed next year.

Last February the board of the the EU body delivering scientific opinions on the hottest topics in the food system debate, such as pesticides and animal welfare, declared to be “not satisfied” with the outcome of the recruitment process for a new chief executive and asked the European Commission to relaunch it.

After three months of looking, the board decided to reappoint temporarily the current head, Bernhard Url, who was expected to leave at the end of May, following ten years at the EFSA helm.

“Dr. Url will continue to lead EFSA as the recruitment process for the authority’s next Executive Director, due to be completed next year, moves forward,” an EFSA press release stated. The overall former selection procedure lasted nine months, from May 2023 to February 2024.

Recent controversy and upcoming work

The work of EFSA on the most controversial topics of the food debate often sparks controversy. The most recent spat has been on pesticide residues in food.

On 23 April, the safety body presented the most recent data on the issue, highlighting that the rate of samples exceeding the EU-allowed level of pesticide residues decreased from 2% in 2019 to 1.6% in 2022.

The same day, the Pesticide Action Network Europe slammed the results in a press release. “This is nothing to applaud,” said PAN Europe in a press release, because “41% of [the samples] contained detectable pesticide residues.” Over 20% of these contained “pesticide cocktails (two or more residues),” thus “contrary to EFSA’s announcement, these results are far from reassuring.”

In the coming months, EFSA is expected to give an opinion on the EU executive’s proposal of regulation to exempt some gene edited plants, from the provisions regulating GMOs.

The European Parliament summoned EFSA for questioning on a report published in December by the French health authority (ANSES), contesting the classification of gene edited plants, on which the European Commission developed the draft legislation.

[Edited by Rajnish Singh]