Updates from other committees

Science Council  

Summary of work 

·        ‘Wider impacts beyond food safety risk assessment’ project workshop on 22 April 2024: This project was commissioned to advise on the practicalities of including impacts outside food safety in FSA decisions.  This workshop brought together external experts across a range of disciplines to review exemplar case studies of a range of possible novel foods/processes, establish the key wider impacts, what information is needed to assess these and where collaboration would be needed with other Government Departments on impacts of joint interest. The final report of this project was published, along with its recommendations, in November 2024 on the Science Council website.  

·        ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI) in food assurance’ project workshop was held on 9 June 2025 to support their project on AI use in food safety and authenticity.  Science Council hosted this expert elicitation workshop with experts across a range of sectors including academia, the food manufacturing and AI industry to discuss the use of AI in food safety/authenticity assurance.  A report of this project was published on 28 October on the Science Council website and contains recommendations to the FSA on the use of AI in assuring food safety and authenticity. 

 Next plenary: April 2026 

Advisory Committee for Social Science (ACSS)

Last meeting: 1st October 2025 (15^th plenary), key discussion items included:  

·        Analytic Unit Update 

·        Working groups updates (Assurance, Understanding Regulatory Change, Economics, Wider Consumer Interests) 

·        Science Council update  

·        F&Y2 - Declining response rates and the impact on representation 

·        F&Y2 - Opportunities for further analysis and reporting. 

·        External expertise mapping 

·        FSA research and evidence priorities: Foodborne disease 

Four working groups are currently active, supporting the development of a range of research activity, from exploring impact metrics for NFCU, to supporting the evaluation of the FSAs provision of information best practise guidance.  

The next open meeting (16^th Plenary) of the ACSS will be an on 20th April 2026. 

Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) 

·        ACNFP Committee meeting 19^th November 2025: A successful hybrid meeting was held reviewing 4 full novel food applications for precision and biomass fermented products (β-lactoglobulin RP1571, Solein RP1326, Fusarium str. flavolapis RP1637 and Fermotein RP1215). Members identified data gaps, according to the expectations of EU Novel Foods Technical Guidance that has been retained in England and Wales post Brexit, for all four applications and advised that safety could not be fully assured at this stage. 

·        ACNFP-PGT Subcommittee meeting - 9th December 2025 - Successful meeting, where advice was received on the assessment of two new GM applications (Soybean RP2261 and Maize RP2288). Technical details of some RFIs were discussed. The Subcommittee also discussed the assessment of precision bred organisms using some case studies to support the preparations for the new precision breeding regime. 

·        ACNFP-CCP Subgroup meeting 20^th January: Meeting of the CCP Subgroup scheduled for 20^th January 2026 to support the development of guidance addressing the identity, production process and microbiological elements of CCP safety assessment.  

·        ACNFP-CBD sub-group: it should be noted that this sub-group concluded its formal work as a group in January 2025. However, if new scientific information becomes available, expert members from ACNFP and COT will be reconvened ad hoc to advise the FSA on the relevance of the new work to the FSAs conclusions and advice on CBD. 

Next ACNFP meeting: 11^th and 12^th February 2026 (Hybrid)  

Next ACNFP-PGT meeting: 27^th January 2026 (Virtual)  

Next ACNFP-CCP Subgroup: 20th January 2026 (Virtual) 

Advisory Committee on Animal Feeding Stuffs (ACAF) 

Last meeting: 10^th December 2025 

10^th December 2025 ACAF Meeting Summary 

·        Discussion on the coccidiostats and antimicrobial resistance.  

·        Reviewed the RFI responses for RP1592, RP2187, RP2247, RP2252 and RP2258. 

·        Members reviewed the account of the horizon scanning exercise.   

Next meeting: 10^th February 2026. 

Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT)

Last meeting: 9^th December 2025

At their December meeting the Committee reviewed a first draft statement on the derivation of a health-based guidance value for boron, they also reviewed a Supplementary statement on Bisphenol A (BPA). 

The Committee discussed the draft EFSA opinion on dioxins – comments will be submitted to the EFSA public consultation. 

The Committee continued their work on the maternal diet: 

Echinacea in the maternal diet. 

Scope of the nutrition and maternal health project. 

Finally, they received for information purposes: COMEAP Statement on airborne nano- and microplastic particles and fibres, which used the approach of the Synthesis of Epidemiological and Toxicological Evidence (SETE) sub-group. 

Next meeting: 3^rd of February 2026 (Virtual). 

Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COC)

Last meeting: November 2025 

Talc (non-asbestiform), the end of the genetic paradigm of cancer, submissions on COC case for change. 

Next meeting:   March 2026 

The Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COM)  

Last meeting:   October 2025 

The end of the genetic paradigm of cancer, weight of evidence assessment for genotoxicity. 

Next meeting:   March 2026 

Further meetings: March, June, October 2026

Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN)  

Last meeting:   13 November 2025 

Nutrition and maternal health, review of health effects of meat (reserved). NDNS by inequalities, horizon scanning. 

 Next meeting: 12 March 2026 

Secretariat

February 2026