Risk Assessment

The European Union is committed to ensuring that citizens’ health and safety are properly protected. This means ensuring food and other products on sale to consumers in the EU are safe, and taking action against other threats to health, such as infectious disease.But how does the EU decide what is safe?How does it identify health threats - and the actions that need to be taken to avoid or minimise the risks they pose?The answer is: by carrying out thorough risks assessments. In a number of areas - for example, food safety - the EU has established specialised agencies to carry out these assessments. In other areas, such as the safety of hair dyes, sun screens, sun beds and certain blood products or air and water quality, the Commission has created committees of independent scientific experts.Issues related to consumer safety, public health and the environment are addressed by the three scientific committees managed by DG Health and Consumer Protection. These Committees were recently set up by Commission Decision 2004/210/ECand replace the former scientific committees operating in these areas. They are:
The Scientific Committee on Consumer Products
The Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks
The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly-Identified Health Risks Following an open call for expressions on interest in membership of the new Committees, the Commission adopted a Decision appointing the members. The Decision also established a reserve list which may be used by the Commission to replace members or by the SCENIHR to identify associated members.The work of the three scientific committees is complementary to the risk assessment activities of other Community bodies such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA).Browse the Theme Scientifics Committees The Scientific Committees provide the Commission with the sound scientific advice it needs when preparing policy and proposals relating to consumer safety, public health and the environmentPopularizing Risk Assessment results Nanotechnologies News