FoodDrinkEurope has published an updated position paper on advancing the integration of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) in food safety risk assessment.
Building on its 2023 position paper, the updated paper reflects recent scientific and regulatory developments, including the upcoming European Commission roadmap to phase out animal testing in chemical safety assessments.
Advances in toxicology, in vitro methods and computational modelling now provide more human-relevant safety assessment tools, while reducing reliance on animal testing. NAM-derived evidence is already used in some regulatory contexts, but its application remains uneven across regulatory areas.
In this context, FoodDrinkEurope highlights the need to use the forthcoming roadmap as an opportunity to accelerate the regulatory uptake of NAMs in food safety assessment, through greater consistency, clearer guidance and structured dialogue between regulators and applicants.
The updated position paper underlines that:
- NAMs can improve the human relevance of food safety risk assessment while supporting the reduction of animal testing.
- The European Commission roadmap should be used to accelerate the regulatory acceptance and practical application of NAMs in food safety.
- NAM-based evidence is already used in certain regulatory contexts, but its application remains uneven across EFSA panels and regulatory areas.
Greater regulatory clarity, consistency and dialogue between regulators and applicants are needed to expand the use of NAMs, with animal testing used only as a last resort.
FoodDrinkEurope calls for a coordinated and pragmatic approach to ensure that NAMs can be increasingly integrated into EU food safety risk assessment while maintaining the highest standards of consumer protection.
