Competent organisations designated by the Member States
Article 1
1. The competent organisations designated by the Member States in accordance with Article 36(2) of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 shall meet the following criteria: (a) they must carry out scientific and technical support tasks in the fields within the mission of the European Food Safety Authority (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Authority’), especially those with a direct or indirect impact on food or feed safety; in particular, these tasks must include the collection and analysis of data connected with risk identification, exposure to risks, risk assessment, food or feed safety assessment, scientific or technical studies, or scientific or technical assistance for risk managers; (b) they must be legal entities pursuing public interest objectives, and their organisational arrangements must include specific procedures and rules ensuring that any tasks entrusted to them by the Authority will be performed with independence and integrity; (c) they must possess a high level of scientific or technical expertise in one or several fields within the Authority’s mission, especially those with a direct or indirect impact on food or feed safety; (d) they must have the capacity to operate in a network on scientific actions as referred to in Article 3 of this Regulation and/or the capacity to perform efficiently the types of task referred to in Article 4 of this Regulation which may be entrusted to them by the Authority. 2. Member States shall forward to the Authority, with a copy to the Commission, the names and details of the designated organisations, evidence that they comply with the criteria set out in paragraph 1, and details of their specific fields of competence. In particular, for the purposes of application of Articles 6(3)(b) and 18(3)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, Member States shall forward the names and details of the competent organisations in the field of safety assessment of genetically modified foods and feeds. Where a designated organisation operates as part of a network, this shall be mentioned, and the network operating conditions shall be described. In cases where it is a specific part of the designated organisation which has the ability and the capacity to operate in a network on scientific actions and/or perform the tasks which may be entrusted to them by the Authority, this shall be stipulated by the Member States. 3. Where designated organisations no longer meet the criteria set out in paragraph 1, Member States shall withdraw their designation and immediately inform the authority, with a copy to the Commission, accompanied by the relevant evidence. Member States shall review the list of organisations they have designated regularly, and at least every three (3) years.