The position paper was published ahead of EFSA’s Safe Food, One Future conference in September 2027, where the new strategy will be launched.
Jérôme Le Bloch, a regulatory expert and head of the scientific department at Nutraveris, said the report, which outlines six key pathways, offers a glimpse into the future direction of European food regulations.
“For companies developing innovative food, feed or biotechnology products, this paper provides valuable insight into the direction of future regulatory science in Europe,” he noted. “Scientific excellence will increasingly depend on robust data, interdisciplinary expertise, anticipation of emerging risks and close cooperation between applicants, authorities, researchers and other stakeholders.”
Innovation and connectedness
To keep pace with innovation, EFSA plans to adapt its risk assessment pathway. Key areas where greater scientific preparedness is needed include novel processing technologies such as precision fermentation, cell-culture derived products, plant molecular farming and microbiome-based products.
The agency also noted that bio-engineering and AI advances are creating new molecules and synthetic production systems faster than EFSA can develop the detection tools, predictive testing models and specialized safety criteria required to evaluate them.
Other areas of innovation including innovative feed additives, biopesticides, novel recycled food contact material and recycling technology were also identified. However, these areas present challenges in light of the agency’s current regulatory capabilities.
The agency says it will need sustained scientific preparedness and innovation to anticipate future regulatory science needs arising from evolving food systems.
“Robust fit-for-purpose risk assessment methodologies will need to maintain scientific excellence, while enhancing regulatory readiness and speed of risk assessment,” the report stated.
Methodological and technical advances
As part of broader EU efforts to phase out animal testing, EFSA is supporting the development and adoption of new approach methodologies including cell-based assays, omics profiling and high-throughput in silico models to satisfy toxicological requirements.
The agency is also seeking to expand the use of probabilistic risk assessments that evaluate real-world combined exposures to multiple substances.
In addition, EFSA is advancing risk-benefit assessment tools that weigh safety, nutrition and wider sustainability considerations, potentially broadening the way novel foods and food technologies are evaluated.
“It is recognized that significant progress is being made to meet the needs and challenges generated by scientific and technological advances,” the report noted. “However, unmet needs remain for their full development and adoption (NAMs) and/or for developing or refining streamlined regulatory risk assessment approaches. Until then, in vivo studies (at least for subchronic toxicity) will still be necessary.”
Sustainability and One Health
EFSA has set an ambition to embrace the One Health approach to ensure more integrated, transdisciplinary and collaborative health assessments. According to the report, this approach, which recognizes that animal, plant and environmental health are interconnected, is essential to transition towards more sustainable food systems.
The objectives set out by the cross-agency One Health taskforce focus on strategic and research coordination, capacity building, communication and stakeholder engagement, and joint activities with collaborative partners.
One of the key issues identified is understanding how chemicals interact with the gut microbiome and influence host health, including the causal relationships between chemical exposures, microbiome changes, and metabolic and inflammatory disorders. EFSA is also closely monitoring the spread of vector-borne diseases, environmental and sustainability risks and climate change and how these issues might impact the European food system.
The agency is expected to evolve towards a scientific preparedness hub, supporting the European Commission and Member States through shared tools, harmonized methods, foresight capacities, rapid expert mobilization and training and integration of signals from different areas.
Preparedness and rapid response
Over time, EFSA has moved from a predominantly reactive crisis-response model towards a more anticipatory and systems-based approach. Various initiatives have already been implemented, including identifying risks through horizon scanning and preparing to deliver urgent scientific advice when necessary, i.e. during food and feed safety emergencies or pandemics.
Looking ahead, the agency said it will use foresight, digital innovation, advanced computation and strengthened cooperation under One Health to evolve from reactive readiness to anticipatory, systems-based scientific preparedness.
Strategies include using machine learning to identify threats before they become crises, strengthening foresight by using digital models to simulate vulnerabilities in food systems and improving access to real-time data and scientific advice.
“By viewing preparedness as a forward-looking scientific challenge, one that requires systems thinking, long-term perspectives and coordinated governance aligned with One Health principles, EFSA can develop a more holistic and anticipatory resilience framework,” the report stated. “By embedding continuous, AI-enabled foresight, predictive modeling and flexible multi-agency collaboration into its core scientific strategy, EFSA can strengthen EU resilience and provide leadership in preparedness.”
Risk communication and social science
For risk communication and social sciences, EFSA noted the need for investments in various areas, particularly in the face of technological change and communication challenges.
“Considering the progress to date and building on the achievements and lessons of what is now a mature function, it will be important for EFSA to embark on the next phase of the development and integration of social research and advice to support assessment and risk communication,” the report stated. “In doing so, it will be key to continue ensuring that social science and risk communication work is aligned with, and supports, EFSA’s current strategic priorities: increasing the speed of EFSA, embracing innovation and strengthening partnerships across the EU food safety system.”
One of the key initiatives is strengthening consultations and applicant support to identify why applicants struggle with application submissions and reduce dossier bottlenecks and procedural delays.
AI will also be explored as a tool to gather insights to tailor communication strategies to the needs of diverse audiences and enable more anticipatory communication. EFSA is also exploring the deployment of AI-assisted media monitoring and social listening tools to identify, analyze and counter false information narratives during food safety events.
The report detailed plans to deepen member state collaboration, including co-designing and driving initiatives, building on achievements from annual investments in capacity building, and continuing close cooperation with well-established EFSA communication networks of national food safety agencies.
Artificial Intelligence and data
Beyond insight mining and media monitoring, EFSA plans to use artificial intelligence to move towards an AI-enabled, yet human-led, regulatory science model.
“Given the complexity of the questions asked of EFSA, digital capability, data and artificial intelligence are becoming central to deliver high-quality scientific advice more quickly, transparently and consistently,” the report stated. “EFSA’s operating environment is already moving in this direction: scientific evidence is growing in volume and complexity, dossiers increasingly need to become structured and interoperable and regulatory questions are more cross-domain.”
The target is an end-to-end AI-supported risk assessment production environment. This could entail automated, pre-submission dossier checks to look for completeness, consistency, substance identification, confidentiality requirements, missing information and comparison with previous submissions. The report suggests that AI could also support pre-submission advice, dossier navigation, anomaly detection and early identification of methodological weaknesses.
To scale this safely, however, EFSA highlights that trust needs to be built in by design. Each AI-supported step should define its intended use, and governance and data protection will be required.
“EFSA will need a human-led, AI-enabled scientific operating model that strengthens the whole system of regulatory science,” the reported stated. “This will help EFSA deliver faster, more transparent, more consistent, more connected and more future-ready scientific advice, while preserving the human accountability on which regulatory trust ultimately depends.”
Source: EFSA Journal. doi: 10.2903/j.efsa.2026.e240901. “EFSA needs for scientific excellence and regulatory readiness.” Authors: European Food Safety Authority, et al.
