Towards safer foods and more democratic decisions Is this a contradictory goal?

Since the mid-1990s and the BSE crisis food safety policy is a priority of the EU. In practise there are however many hurdles towards implementing principles of improved governance, such as transparency and greater participation, especially at EU-level. This paper presents the work of the SAFE FOODS prospect towards the development an improved framework for risk analysis. The final aim is to develop concrete recommendations on how to facilitate coordination between risk assessors, risk managers and stakeholders across the EU, and to keep methods for risk assessment apace with developments in the life sciences.