Stakeholder engagement
Engagement with stakeholders is key to EFSA’s work and reflects its commitment to openness, transparency and dialogue.
Who are EFSA’s ‘stakeholders’?
EFSA’s stakeholders are representative organisations that have an interest in the Authority’s work or in the wider food and feed sector. EFSA divides stakeholders into seven major groups:
Consumer organisations
 | Organisations whose primary objectives are to defend and promote the interests of consumers. |
NGOs and advocacy groups
 | Non-governmental groups that are independent of industry, commerce and business and which have as their primary objectives and activities the promotion of environmental protection or the health and safety of consumers. Advocacy groups may be concerned with broader, horizontal issues not directly related to food safety such as the place of science in policy-making or transparency in public administration. |
Business and food industry
 | Associations representing the interests of companies operating in any industry sector relevant to the work of EFSA. |
Distributors and HORECA
 | Organisations representing the interests of stakeholders involved in preparing, distributing and serving food, such as wholesalers, retailers, hotels, restaurants and caterers (HORECA). |
Practitioners’ associations
 | Organisations representing professionals working in fields relevant to EFSA’s food safety and public health remit, such as medical doctors, dieticians, nurses, pharmacists and veterinarians. |
Academia
 | Groups that represent scientific and technological communities, including scientific societies, universities, research institutes or other groups of academics. |
Farmers and primary producers
 | Organisations representing those at the beginning of the food chain. These may include, for example, associations of farmers, fishermen, foresters, breeders, beekeepers and horticulturalists. |