OpenFoodTox is the new EFSA database that provides instant access to a wealth of information from over 1,650 EFSA scientific outputs about the toxicity of chemicals found in the food and feed chain. An editorial published in the EFSA Journal describes how to use the database. EFSA scientists Jean-Lou Dorne, the toxicologist who led its development, and Jane Richardson, lead scientist on open data, explain why this is an important milestone in EFSA’s efforts to increase transparency and open its data up for others to explore and re-use.

Jean-Lou Dorne

Jean-Lou, what is special about this database?

Jean-Lou: Well, all the information in the database is already publicly available, but until now you would have to look it up in over 1,650 separate scientific opinions and conclusions. OpenFoodTox gives quick and easy access to the most important information from that huge body of work. It provides the summary toxicologica ... ...