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Annotation
The article analyzes the role of the European Food Safety Authority in the regulation of food supplements and the distinction between risk assessment and risk management. It advances the thesis that, although EFSA formally performs only a scientific and advisory function, its opinions in practice become an almost binding regulatory standard for the decisions of the European Commission. The case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the General Court is examined, demonstrating the limits of the precautionary principle and requiring restrictions on food supplements to be proportionate and scientifically justified. The conclusion is that the institutional balance between the European Commission and EFSA is partially undermined, as scientific assessment gradually displaces independent administrative discretion in risk management. The lack of effective mechanisms for the subsequent management of residual risk in the field of food supplements is identified as a major structural problem.
Keywords
Food supplements; scientific assessment; scientific substantiation; proportionality; risk assessment and risk management.
