Innovation is often discussed in abstract terms, but for farmers it is a matter of day-to-day resilience: the ability to manage pests, protect yields, and adapt to mounting environmental and economic pressures. As debate on the Food & Feed Safety Omnibus progresses, one point must remain clear: Europe’s safety standards are unchanged and the scientific criteria remain fully intact. What is being reconsidered is how the system functions, as current procedures are no longer delivering effectively.
The current framework has become congested. Full dossier reassessments consume significant time and effort, even when substances have long histories of safe use and no new evidence of concern. Instead of allowing authorities to focus on new science, new technologies and genuine risks, the system repeatedly draws them back into reviewing material that has already been assessed.
Shifting from calendar-driven cycles to evidence-driven oversight
One of the most meaningful changes introduced in the Omnibus is the move toward ongoing approvals with targeted oversight. This marks a shift from calendar-driven cycles to a more rational system in which reviews take place when they are needed, not simply because a deadline has arrived.
This same logic applies to data review. Today, Member States are often required to revisit information that has already been verified, creating a burdensome and duplicative process. The Omnibus introduces a more deliberate approach through targeted, scoped assessments that focus only on what has changed and what is scientifically relevant. This keeps protection fully intact while reducing unnecessary work and supporting a more agile regulatory system that aligns with practices in other OECD jurisdictions.
Ensuring simplification is not undone at product level
For the reform to deliver real improvements, simplification for active substances must not be offset by new procedural burdens elsewhere. Maintaining a fixed 15-year renewal cycle for products risks rebuilding the very workload the Omnibus is intended to remove. To achieve genuine efficiency, product reviews should be aligned with the timing and scope of active substance reviews, allowing authorities to focus on new information rather than duplicating past assessments.
Clarity and consistency for a more predictable system
A long‑standing issue in the current framework is the inconsistent interpretation across Member States of guidance documents, data requirements and scientific endpoints.
This results in unpredictable information requests and timelines that vary from one country to another can slow down access to new tools.
Greater clarity on how “current scientific and technical knowledge” should be applied, using guidance available at the time of application and the latest EU‑level assessments, would help bring much‑needed coherence without changing safety standards.
A system that protects better by working smarter
Taken together, the reforms proposed in the Omnibus maintain Europe’s high level of protection while making the system more functional. They reduce repetition, restore regulatory capacity and ensure oversight is directed toward what truly matters: new science, new risks and new technologies that support resilient and sustainable agriculture.
This is not a reform of safety.
It is a reform of process so that Europe’s protections continue to be delivered effectively, and innovation can reach farmers in a timely, predictable way
For more please find here our position paper explaining the elements reducing the administrative burdens of the system