The Authors

  Philip James was a member of the UK's Food Advisory Committee of MAFF 1976 to 1989; of the Committee on Toxicity from 1983 to 1989; of the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes from 1986 to 1998 and of COMA from 1990 to 1999, with Chairmanship of the subgroup on nutritional aspects of novel foods. He was an adviser and then a member of the EU's Scientific Committee for Food from 1990 to 1995. Membership included the Nutritional Subcommittee and the newly established Novel Foods Subcommittee which produced guidelines for the current EU system for assessing novel foods. He is currently one of the eight independent European scientists on the broad interdisciplinary Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) based in the consumer related DGXXIV and a member of the ad hoc committee dealing with all BSE and related issues in the EU. He generated the proposal which is now the current basis for risk evaluation of BSE and now deals with analyses of Human Risk Exposure. He also serves on the Chairman's ad hoc group considering a broader approach to GMO issues.

  Andrew Chesson is currently a member of the EU Scientific Committee on Animal Nutrition (SCAN) established within DGXXIV to consider those aspects of animal feed production and nutrition which could affect consumer health and safety. He was also selected to represent SCAN on the EU subgroup which considers applications for the release of GM plants under Directive 90/220/ECC. In addition, he is vice-Chair of the Ad Hoc Expert Group on Food Safety established by the OECD to consider the harmonisation of approaches to establishing the safety of novel foods (and feeds) including those derived from GM sources.