Outcome of the public consultation on the draft EFSA ‘Guidance Document on Scientific criteria for grouping chemicals into assessment groups for human risk assessment of combined exposure to multiple chemicals’

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) carried out a public consultation to receive input from the scientific community and all interested parties on the draft guidance of the working group of the Scientific Committee ‘Guidance Document on Scientific criteria for grouping chemicals into assessment groups for human risk assessment of combined exposure to multiple chemicals’. The background and the Terms of Reference were prepared by EFSA staff and the working group of the Scientific Committee was set up in 2019. The draft guidance was developed by the working group and endorsed by the Scientific Committee for public consultation at its plenary meeting of 17 April 2021. The written public consultation for this document was opened from 29 May to 10 July 2021. EFSA received responses from 12 interested parties (industry, industry associations, NGOs, consultancy companies, national scientific advisory bodies and individual scientists). EFSA and its Scientific Committee wish to thank all stakeholders for their contributions. In addition, EFSA organised an International Workshop on “Risk Assessment of Combined Exposure to Multiple Chemicals” on 18, 19 and 20 October 2021 to discuss specifically hazard-based criteria and prioritisation methods from the guidance document as well future challenges in the area of risk assessment of combined exposure to multiple chemicals. This report presents the comments received from the public consultation and the international workshop and addressed after consideration by the working group of the Scientific Committee and by the Scientific Committee at its Plenary meeting of 17 November 2021.