The European food agency is calling for improvements to international communication on food safety.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has begun searching for “competent scientific organisations” to form a formal scientific network between the 25 member states.

The agency said it is hoping to expand on the general principles and requirements laid out in the EU Regulation 178/2002.

It reported: “Some organisations carry out tasks complementary to those of the authority and with which future networking on scientific issues would be advantageous.”

EFSA’s executive director, Geoffrey Podger, has written to representatives of all EU member states to invite nominations for suitable candidates for the network.