The European Food Information Council, EUFIC, is a non-profit organization that provides information on food and food-related topics to the media, health and nutrition professionals. EUFIC publishes a regular newsletter, FOOD TODAY, on subjects of current interest. It maintains relations with a network of independent scientific experts, food specialists, educators, government agencies and consumer organizations.
IFIC is primarily a U.S. communications organization. It is recognized globally for food and health issues and participates in an informal network of independent food information organizations in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and Latin America.
IFIC's main purpose is to bridge the gap between science and communications by collecting and disseminating scientific information on food safety, nutrition and health and translate research into understandable and useful information.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is a European Union (EU) risk assessment agency regarding food and feed safety. EFSA provides independent scientific advice and clear communication on existing and emerging risks. It is a separate legal entity, independent from the other EU institutions. It was set up in Brussels in 2002. EFSA's risk assessments provide risk managers (consisting of EU institutions with political accountability, i.e. European Commission, European Parliament and Council) with a sound scientific basis for defining policy driven legislative or regulatory measures required to ensure a high level of consumer protection with regards to food safety.
The evaluation of food additives at the international level was initiated as a result of a Joint FAO/WHO Conference on Food Additives held in Geneva in 1955. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) is an international scientific committee administered jointly by the Food and Agriculture (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Its initial purpose was to evaluate the safety of food additives. The scope now includes the evaluation of contaminants, naturally occurring toxicants and residues of veterinary drugs in food.