Overview of the test requirements in the area of food and feed safety

The mission of the European Food Safety Authority EFSA is to provide scientific opinions and technical support in all fields which have a direct or indirect impact on food and feed safety. The Authority shall also "contribute to a high level of protection of human life and health, and in this respect take account of animal health and welfare". In the area of hazard and risk assessment, EFSA receives studies as part of the dossiers provided by applicants who applied for approval of the use of a substance. The content of such dossiers relies on legal requirements which generally include experiments on animals. EFSA decided to adopt a pro-active animal welfare approach summarized as follows: "While recognizing that animal testing cannot be eliminated at present, EFSA could make every effort to stimulate, and participate in, the development of new food and feed assessment approaches that would minimize the use of experimental animals and would reduce, to the extent possible, the level of suffering of animals". The paper gives an overview of the work in this area at EFSA and suggests future developments considering the 3Rs and the animal welfare.