TY - JOUR
T1 - Risk–benefit assessment of foods and its role to inform policy decisions
T2 - outcome of an international workshop
AU - Monteiro, Constanza De Matteu
AU - Membré, Jeanne-Marie
AU - Poulsen, Morten
AU - Thomsen, Sofie Theresa
AU - Pires, Sara Monteiro
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Policy decisions in public health require consideration and evaluation of trade-offs for which transparency and science-based evidence is needed. Improvement of decision-support tools is essential to help guide food policy decisions that promote healthy diets and meet the challenges of food systems without compromising food security, food safety, and sovereignty. Risk–benefit assessment of foods (RBA) is an established methodological approach designed to inform policy decisions within the area of nutrition and food safety. Despite methodological developments, translation of RBA findings into policies is still limited. In this context, a stakeholder workshop held in May 2023 gathered RBA experts and food regulators from Europe to identify the challenges, obstacles and opportunities in using evidence generated through RBAs to inform food policy decisions. A structured process was implemented to collect their views through online surveys, breakout groups, and plenary discussions. As a secondary objective, food regulators’ views on other approaches for holistic risk assessment fit for food systems analysis were also explored. This paper summarizes the main findings of the workshop and discusses policy implications and future perspectives to improve the area of RBA and its role in food policymaking.
AB - Policy decisions in public health require consideration and evaluation of trade-offs for which transparency and science-based evidence is needed. Improvement of decision-support tools is essential to help guide food policy decisions that promote healthy diets and meet the challenges of food systems without compromising food security, food safety, and sovereignty. Risk–benefit assessment of foods (RBA) is an established methodological approach designed to inform policy decisions within the area of nutrition and food safety. Despite methodological developments, translation of RBA findings into policies is still limited. In this context, a stakeholder workshop held in May 2023 gathered RBA experts and food regulators from Europe to identify the challenges, obstacles and opportunities in using evidence generated through RBAs to inform food policy decisions. A structured process was implemented to collect their views through online surveys, breakout groups, and plenary discussions. As a secondary objective, food regulators’ views on other approaches for holistic risk assessment fit for food systems analysis were also explored. This paper summarizes the main findings of the workshop and discusses policy implications and future perspectives to improve the area of RBA and its role in food policymaking.
KW - Risk–benefit assessment
KW - Food policy
KW - Decision-making
KW - Health impact assessment
KW - Holistic approaches
U2 - 10.3389/fnut.2024.1458531
DO - 10.3389/fnut.2024.1458531
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 39385787
SN - 2296-861X
VL - 11
JO - Frontiers in Nutrition
JF - Frontiers in Nutrition
M1 - 1458531
ER -