The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has identified eight emerging risks in a recently published technical report summarizing the agency’s emerging risk identification activities for 2021. EFSA’s emerging risk identification efforts are a collaboration between the Emerging Risks Exchange Network (EREN), the Stakeholder Discussion Group on Emerging Risks, and EFSA’s scientific units, scientific panels, and Scientific Committee and its working groups.
In total, 18 potential emerging issues were discussed in 2021, of which eight were decided to be emerging risks. The potential issues were also classified according to the hazard or driver identified. In more than half of the issues discussed in 2021, a change in consumer trends was identified as a driver. The emerging issues are: