First meetings of new scientific committees for consumer health
The new scientific committees in the field of consumer health and food safety, established by the European Commission in response to the problems highlighted by the BSE crisis, held their first meetings in November 1997. The eight Committees each elected their chairmen at the first meetings. These chairmen automatically become members of the central Scientific Steering Committee, along with the eight members already appointed. The chairmen of the sectoral committees are as follows: - Scientific Committee on Food: . Dr.med.vet. Ib Knudsen Fodevaredirektoratet, Instituttet for Toksikologi, Denmark; - Scientific Committee on Animal Nutrition: . Ing. Georges Bories Directeur du Laboratoire des Xénobiotiques, INRA, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Laboratoire des Xénobiotiques, France; - Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare: . Dr. Fulgencio Garrido-Abellán Director of Laboratory, Laboratorio Nacional de Sanidad y Producción Animal, Spain; - Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures relating to Public Health: . Prof. Albert Osterhaus Professor, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, Faculteit der geneeskunde en gezondheidswetenschappen, Instituut voor Virologie, The Netherlands; - Scientific Committee on Plants: . Prof. António M. S. Silva Fernandes Professor of Phytopharmacology, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Departamento de Prodecção Integrada das Plantas e Fitoecologia, Portugal; - Scientific Committee on Cosmetic Products and Non-Food Products intended for Consumers: . Prof. Fritz Kemper Professor emeritus of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Münster/FRG, Germany; - Scientific Committee on Medicinal Products and Medical Devices: . Dr. Keith Jones Director and Chief Executive of the Medical Control Agency, London, United Kingdom; - Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment: . Prof. James W. Bridges Director, University of Surrey, European Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, United Kingdom. The first meeting of the full Scientific Steering Committee was subsequently held, in Brussels, on 21 November 1997. At this meeting, the Committee discussed a number of matters concerning transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) and genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). The first members of the ad hoc group on TSEs were appointed, with further specialist scientists to be appointed at the next meeting. The Chairman and vice-chairmen of the Scientific Steering Committee were elected at the meeting: - Chairman: . Professor Gérard Pascal Director of the Centre National d'Etudes et de Recommandations sur la Nutrition et l'Alimentation, France; - Vice-chairmen: . Professor Vittorio Silano Director-General of the Pharmaceutical Service, Ministry of Health, Italy; . Professor Marcel Vanbelle Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. The Committee will meet, in principle, every third Thursday and Friday of each month. In order to ensure transparency, the agendas and minutes of the meetings of the Scientific Steering Committee, and of the sectoral committees will be made available systematically on the World Wide Web, at the following address: http://europa.eu.int/en/comm/spc/spc.html