Methodology

A Pilot Expert Working Group was convened in the form of an ad hoc or “mock” Scientific Advisory Committee.  Experts invited to participate were identified by the Science Council to complement the existing expertise of the Council and to bring in perspectives from diverse disciplines and business experience (Annex 2).  Experts provided feedback on the draft discussion papers and participated in a one-day workshop (Annex 3) designed to share perspectives on wider impacts viewed through the lens of three selected case studies.  Case studies were selected to promote discussion of wider impacts; the goal was not to produce detailed reports on the case studies. The three case studies used were:

Aspartame: initially conceived to illustrate evidence evaluation where nutrition is a key wider impact.

Seaweed: initially conceived to illustrate evidence evaluation where environmental impact is a key wider impact.

Nitrite/Nitrate: initially conceived to illustrate evidence evaluation where there are both chemical and microbiological risks involved.