31/05/2010

The meeting took place on 26 and 27 May 2010, in the ‘International Room’ (Sala Internacional) of the Ministry for Health and Social Policy, in Madrid.

The AFCWG (Advisory Forum Working Group on Communications) is an EFSA working team which brings together representatives of the 27 Member States of the European Union, including the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN), as well as the European Commission and some countries who are invited as observers. The meetings have been held in the various headquarters of the different countries of the Union.

Juan Julián García, AESAN Executive Adviser, welcomed delegates to the meeting. Anne-Laure Gassin, who is in charge of the group, then began with the first item on the agenda.

It is important to work together towards identifying and using communication tools in order to strengthen understanding of European food safety systems and of the work being carried out in this field by national and European authorities.

The sharing of information and experiences through the AFCWF network is also very useful for cooperation and coordination in communications.

This type of meeting is therefore vital as they serve to strengthen cooperation through the involvement of communication teams of the Member States, the Commission and EFSA.

A joint approach is important in the assessment of communication activities and lessons learnt, in order to strengthen best practice.

We need to work towards finding a shared approach for the assessment and monitoring of the public perception of food safety and nutrition at the heart of the European Union.

One of the most important tasks currently occupying this working group is the production of a manual or guide which will set out a framework to help in decision making on the communicative approach. To this end various scenarios are being considered in a wide range of situations which might possibly arise in risk assessment and communication within the European food safety system.

Among the speakers at this Forum was Dr Juan José Badiola, Doctor in Veterinary Science, Vice-President of the AESAN Scientific Committee and President of the General Council of Veterinary Colleges, who offered the scientist’s perspective regarding the communication of scientific advances to consumers. Also present was Beatriz García Fernández, who outlined the difficulties in communicating this kind of news. A journalist from the Noticias Cuatro news programme and a specialist in health issues, Ms García Fernández has a great deal of experience in the various media, and last year won the Madrid Press Association’s Larra Prize (Premio Larra) for the most outstanding journalist under the age of 30.

Nuria Molinero Marchante, Director of the Department for Institutional Communication of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), also took part, giving a very interesting summary of the Scientific Journalism Workshops which took place recently in Madrid, organised by the Ministry for Science and Innovation.

Ana Troncoso, Executive Director of AESAN, also took the opportunity to speak, urging those present to continue with their efforts to improve communication in the area of food safety, which she described as being specifically delicate, and in which transparency, independence and scientific evidence should be paramount, basic principles which AESAN applies in all its activities. Anne Laure Gassin thanked AESAN for organising the event and stressed the importance that EFSA attaches to this type of meeting.

Workshop Program ( Pdf, 39.0 Kb )

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