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High quality scientific advice for the
drafting and amendment of Community rules regarding Consumer
protection in general and Consumer Health in particular is of
utmost importance. This is also underlined in the April 1997
Commission Communication on Consumer health and food safety
(
COM(97) 183 fin. of 30 April 1997
). CONSUMER HEALTH is here defined as including matters
on consumer health in its strictest sense, animal health and
welfare, plant health and environmental health.
Many issues relating to consumer health
are of a multidisciplinary nature and require input from
various scientific disciplines.
As announced in the above Communication
the entire system of scientific advice has been reformed in
June-October 1997: a
Scientific Steering
Committee and
8 new Scientific Committees
have been established, respectively by
Commission Decision N° 97/404/EC
of 10 June 1997 (Official Journal N° L 169 of 27.06.97)
and
Commission Decision N° 97/579/EC
of 23 July 1997 (Official Journal N° L 237 of 28.8.97).
They replace and have an updated and broadened mandate as
compared to the former Scientific Committees.
Until November 1997, the advice was
provided by 6 different Scientific Committees:
Food, Veterinary, Animal Nutrition,
Cosmetology, Pesticides and
Toxicity and Ecotoxicology. In
addition, the
Multidisciplinary Scientific
Committee (MDSC), established in 1996, addressed the
multi-disciplinary aspects of the recent Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy epidemic.
The scientific advice by these
Committees is made available without undue delay following
a request by the Commission for a scientific advice or
opinion on a new development that may cause concern for
consumer health. The advice and opinions, in the interest
of consumers and industry, are based on the principles of
excellence, independence and transparency.
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