Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine
Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine

EFSA specialized trainings on certain aspects of food safety risk assessment

LOT 2: Trainings on horizontal scientific assessment methodologies

EFSA is launching several training activities in 2023 to enable the understanding and practical implementation of risk/benefit assessment practices, to strengthen the dissemination of scientific risk assessment Guidance Documents and modeling practices, and to ensure the uptake of Guidance Documents on cross-cutting risk assessment approaches already developed by EFSA. The trainings are intended for members of the EFSA Scientific Committee/Panels, their working groups, EFSA staff, EFSA’s networks, and, if eligible from EFSA’s point of view, other interested parties. 

Training modalities will include on-site training courses at EFSA in Parma (Italy) as well as several virtual trainings such as online seminars, e-learning packages and online tutorials.

If you are interested in making use of this training offer, please register by filling in the corresponding registration form. If EFSA considers you eligible, you will be notified a few days after the registration deadline and will receive further information, such as your log-in data for the e-learning platform, in due time. The online tutorial will be publicly available and requires no registration; the link will be shared here, once the tutorial is online. 

Overview training topics

These are the topics of the training period 2024-2026, planned as e-learnings or virtual seminars. For open registrations, please see "upcoming training courses".

1. The EFSA scientific assessment principles and process

  • Protocol development
     

2. How to identify, characterize and communicate uncertainties in EFSA’s scientific assessments
 

3. Use of new-approach methodologies (e.g. in-silico and in-vitro tools) in chemical risk assessment

  • In-silico models and other relevant modeling approaches
  • AOP and approaches for using mechanistic understanding for risk assessment
  • Evidence integration in the IATA framework, focusing on the AOP informed IATA approach on NAMs to address the data gaps identified  during the iterative process
     

4. Principles of human health risk-benefit assessment of foods

  • The risk-benefit assessment framework 
  • Microbiological and toxicological risk assessment

Upcoming training courses

More information on upcoming courses and registration.

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  • EFSA training: Protocol development (e-learning)

    E-learning under Topic 1: The EFSA scientific assessment principles and process

    Protocols illustrate a priori the aim of the scientific assessment and the methods for carrying it out. EFSA’s Scientific Committee guidance (GD) on protocol development (PD) describes a flexible framework for PD for EFSA ‘generic mandates’, i.e. those unrelated to regulated products evaluations for market authorizations. The guidance for protocol development was published in 2023 and several projects have already followed the general rules described therein. Protocol development is a two-step process as described in the guidance: 

    • Step 1: Formulate the problem - Problem formulation phase (what?)
    • Step 2: Plan the methods for conducting the assessment (how?)

    Two out of the four virtual learning sessions of this training will focus on the GD on PD itself and related GDs e.g. on methods, uncertainty assessment or weight of evidence. They will show how future risk assessments can benefit from having a protocol in place in advance and what pitfalls can be avoided by learning from projects that have already used protocols. In the remaining two virtual learning sessions, case studies for the application of the GD on PD will be presented and discussed. 
    Each session will conclude with relevant exercises and quizzes to allow participants to check their understanding and clarify questions.
    Feedback and final questions will be answered at the end of the fourth day of the virtual learning course. 

     

    Who will be admitted?

    This e-learning is open for all staff members, including EFSA’s Scientific Committee/Panels and their working groups and members of the EFSA Networks. This course is also available for members of other European agencies and European institutions on the List of Competent Organizations (also known as Article 36 List) that are eligible to receive EFSA’s grants. Registrants from other affiliations are not eligible. EFSA reserves the right to select the trainees from all registered persons. If the number of eligible registrants exceeds the number of available places, the first-come, first served principle will be applied. After the registration deadline, all registrants will be informed, and the selected trainees will receive login data for the e-learning platform.

    Tutors

    • Monika Batke (freelancer)
    • Martin F. Wilks (freelancer)

    Location and date

    Location: online - webinar and e-learning platform

    Training period: June 16 - 19, 2025

    Webinars with tutors: tbd. (dates and times will be communicated to participants in due time)

    Registration and costs

    • Registration deadline: June 2, 2025
    • This training is free of charge.
    • EFSA reserves the right to select the trainees from all registered persons. If the number of eligible registrants exceeds the number of available places, the first-come, first-served principle will be applied.
    • After the registration deadline, all registrants will be informed, and the selected trainees will receive login data for the e-learning platform.
    • Who will be admitted? Please see information above.

    Registration form

    PLEASE NOTE: If none of the “Member group” options in the below form fits your situation, please select “EFSA Network” and provide further details in the text field below the selection list.

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    Bitte füllen Sie das Pflichtfeld aus.
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Your contacts at Fraunhofer ITEM

Please do not hesitate to contact us, if you have any questions.

Sylvia Escher

Contact Press / Media

Dr. Sylvia Escher

Training coordinator

Phone +49 511 5350-330

Judith Oumard

Contact Press / Media

Judith Oumard

Contact person for organizational questions

Phone +49 511 5350-135