Scientific Excellence in Consumer Safety
Science-Based Decision-Making Workshop
Background
When managing consumer safety, the primary aim of governments is to ensure that products are safe for their intended use. This is best achieved when regulation of consumer safety is predictable and based on risk. In turn, this facilitates safe use of technologies, stimulates investment in new sustainable products, limits arbitrary implementation by governments, and allows consumers to enjoy valued functional and emotional benefits. It also contributes to consumer confidence and engenders public trust.
Achieving these goals is difficult. Regulators often lack deep knowledge of technologies, applications, and consumer usage: these are areas of applied science where knowledge is held within market participants and the academic networks they support. Regulators need to gain access to this knowledge whilst ensuring that scientific assessment processes are impartial. Indeed, avoiding regulatory failure is one of the greatest challenges in this risk domain. Decisions based solely on intrinsic properties (hazards) or on incomplete understanding of usage and exposure may trigger risk-risk trade-offs, reductions in consumer welfare, reductions in safety, or less investment in new ‘greener’ technologies.
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For more information on this topic please see the ERIF Highlights Note.
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To find out more about our speakers, either visit our Speaker Bios page or select the name in the schedule to navigate directly towards a speaker's biography.
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Objective and format of workshop
This ERIF (European Risk & Innovation Forum) workshop will contribute to the evolution of the EU’s approach to the management of consumer safety. It will be held under The Chatham House Rule and will focus on identifying ways of ensuring scientific excellence, considering two perspectives: scientists who undertake risk assessments and who strive to deliver high quality opinions; and, second, the framework of governance that fosters such outcomes.
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Session I - Science Perspective
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09:30
Welcome and Introduction: Howard Chase, ERIF Chairman
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Logistics By Moderator: Dirk Hudig, ERIF Secretary General
09:35
Lead Speaker: Sir Colin Berry, Emeritus Professor of Pathology, Queen Mary and Westfield College, London University
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09:50
Panelist Interventions
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Karl-Heinz Jöckel, Professor of Medical Informatics, Biometry, and Epidemiology at the University of Essen
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Daniel Dietrich, Professor of Human and Environmental Toxicology at the University of Konstanz
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Paul Carmichael, Endowed Professor of Next Generation Risk Assessment Approaches for Human and Environmental Health at Wageningen University and Senior Science Leader, Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre (SEAC), Unilever
10:10
Discussions and Q&A
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10:45
Close Science Session
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Session II - Governance Perspective
11:20
Panelist Interventions
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Jim Bridges, Emeritus Professor of Toxicology and Environmental Health, University of Surrey and a former Chair of SCTEE, SCC, and SCHENIR committees
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Sue O'Hagan, Director Scientific Affairs and Food Safety at PepsiCo and former regulatory toxicologist at the UK Department of Health
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Angus Cameron, International Regulatory and Pharmaceutical Registration expert
11:45
Discussions and Q&A
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12:10
Chairman's Summation and Comments
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12:30
Close of Workshop
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