The general public in Europe seems to have lost its confidence in food safety. The remedy for this, as proposed by the Commission of the EU, is a scientific rearmament. The question, however, is whether more science will be able to overturn the public distrust. Present experience seems to suggest the contrary, because there is widespread distrust in the science-based governmental control systems. The answer to this problem is the creation of an independent scientific Food Authority. However, we argue that independent scientific advice alone is unlikely to re-establish public confidence. It is much more important to make the scientific advice transparent, i.e., to state explicitly the factual and non-native premises on which it is based. Risk assessments are based on a rather narrow, but well-defined notion of risk. However, the public is concerned with a broader value context that comprises both benefits and risks. Transparency and understanding of the public's perception of food risks is a necessary first step in establishing the urgently required public dialogue about the complex value questions involved in food production.
