EFSA Call for Expressions of Interest for External Experts in Working Groups - Environmental Risk Assessment for terrestrial non-target organisms

EFSA CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST 
EXTERNAL EXPERTS IN WORKING GROUPS - Environmental Risk Assessment for terrestrial non-target organisms
EFSA/WG/ERA/2024/O1

Deadline for sending applications:  
30 May 2024 at 23:59 (local time).  

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), based in Parma, is looking to expand its pool of scientists with expertise in the areas of  
Environmental Risk Assessment for terrestrial non-target organisms.

Are you a motivated scientist seeking to make a difference and contribute to protecting public health in Europe? Would you like to harness your passion for science by working for the cornerstone of food safety risk assessment in Europe? 

Scientists with the required expertise are invited to express their interest by applying to this call and may be considered for participation in one of  EFSA’s Working Groups. 

EUROPEAN FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY

 
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is an Agency of the European Union and an integral part of the EU’s food safety system.  

EFSA delivers independent and transparent scientific advice to policy makers to ensure safety throughout the entire food chain - from farm to fork. EFSA’s scientific advice is achieved through the work of our experts and in cooperation with national and international partners as well as in an open dialogue with society. It contributes to the protection of human, animal and plant health as well as the environment. 

EFSA brings together Europe’s best available experts in risk assessment in the field of food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, plant health and the environment, who act in an independent capacity to provide the European Union Institutions and Member States with scientific advice of the highest standard. 

To find out more about EFSA, visit us at www.efsa.europa.eu. 
 

EFSA’S WORKING GROUPS

EFSA’s  Working Groups  are composed of experienced, independent experts tasked to gather scientific evidence on certain topics, draft scientific opinions and conduct preparatory work for EFSA’s Scientific Panels and the Scientific Committee. Currently, EFSA is coordinating more than 100 Working Groups with 500+ experts, who deliver on a wide array of mandates. 

Working Group – Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) for terrestrial non-target organisms

In consideration of the prioritisation exercise discussed in December 2022 at the meeting of Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (PAFF Committee)[1] for the revision of existing Guidance Document (GDs), EFSA will receive a mandate from the European Commission for the revision of the SANCO Guidance Document (GD) (EC, 2002)[2].

The scope of this mandate, in particular, will be to revise the GD on non-target arthropods, non-target terrestrial plants, in-soil organisms and to consider indirect effects via trophic interactions. For addressing the mandate, EFSA will set a scientific Working Group composed by external experts, from both academia and regulatory competent national authorities and EFSA staff.

The Working Group is aligned with EFSA Strategic objectives 2027[3] to ensure preparedness for future risk analysis needs. Improving the quality of scientific GDs and methodologies will provide a basis for future development of the next generation systems-based environmental risk assessment (ERA) of Plant Protection Products (PPPs).

The ERA Working Group will work on the revision of the terrestrial GDs as mentioned above. As part of the activity, the Working Group may contribute to the definition of specific protection goals (SPGs) for the different groups of organisms in the scope of the mandate and to the development of methodologies for risk assessment (including exposure and effect assessments). 

Expertise that will be needed for the ERA Working Group includes the following subjects, all of them in relation to ERA of terrestrial non-target organisms:

• Ecotoxicology and regulatory risk assessment for non-target arthropods, in-soil organisms and non-target terrestrial plants, including experience in evaluating higher tier risk assessment studies; 
• Species biology and ecology for non-target arthropods, in-soil organisms and non-target terrestrial plants, including trophic interactions; 
• Environmental exposure and modelling; 
• Ecological modelling (mechanistic effect modelling, population modelling and food web/ecological interaction modelling) in the fields of PPPs, terrestrial compartment covering plants, in-soil organisms and non-target arthropods;
• Testing (lab/field/mesocosm) and monitoring methodologies.

In addition, knowledge on EU regulatory framework for PPPs will be considered as an asset.

[1] https://food.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-06/pesticides_ppp_app-list-guidance_priority-list.pdf.

[2] Guidance Document on Terrestrial Ecotoxicology Under Council Directive 91/414/EEC. SANCO/10329/2002 rev 2 final 17 October 2002.

[3] https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/corporate-pubs/efsa-strategy-2027-science-safe-food-sustainability

Working Group Experts

Members of the Working Groups are expected to work in cooperation and have a high degree of professional ethics and integrity. Members of Working Groups are entrusted with the following responsibilities: 

• Contribution to the updating of ERA of PPPs on non-target arthropods related guidance documents.
• Timely preparation and discussion of scientific contribution as agreed by the Working Group; 
• Contribution to the consistency of EFSA’s scientific assessment approaches and work in close cooperation with the Panel on the Plant Protection Products and their residues (PPR); 
• Ensuring adherence to sector specific and horizontal EFSA guidance documents and relevant EU legislation.

General Conditions

Members of the Working Groups are expected to attend and contribute actively and timely to the meetings of the Working Groups where opinions, statements or guidance documents are prepared. Attendance and active contribution at the meetings of the Working Groups requires preparatory work, including prior reading, data analysis and drafting of documents. Meetings are held in English and the documents are in the English language. 

Members of the Working Groups will be requested to attend 1-2 day meetings around 6 to 8 times per year, by teleconference or physically in Parma (Italy) or in other EU cities. Experts will receive an indemnity in accordance with EFSA’s rules laid down in the Experts’ Compensation Guide.