Sciensano is a public and independent scientific institute dedicated to human and animal health and their environment. They conduct scientific research and surveillance, and support the government and various agencies and organisations with health expertise, advice and services. Sciensano attaches great importance to the One Health principle, which emphasises that the health of humans, animals and their environment are interconnected. Therefore, our research is interdisciplinary and integrates different perspectives.

With more than a thousand employees and 120 years of scientific expertise, Sciensano is a renowned science institute, part of several international scientific networks.

In the context of EFSA’s remits, Sciensano focuses on food consumption and food safety, (human and animal) health and disease monitoring, and on the link between health and the environment (e.g. pesticides).

Using food consumption surveys, Sciensano analyses citizens’ nutritional habits. Sciensano also identify pathogens in food (and human infections caused by food pathogens) and keeps an eye on GMOs, food contaminants, residues (pesticides, heavy metals, etc.), food contact materials, additives and nanomaterials, for which Sciensano also assesses the risks. In terms of animal health, Sciensano is involved in a broad range of activities (e.g. epizootic diseases, emerging diseases that pose a major socioeconomic risk, but also diseases whose impact is solely economic, such as foot-and-mouth disease). Furthermore, Sciensano also addresses important transversal problems such as antimicrobial resistance and zoonoses.