working mechanisms and to develop the overall governance framework in
which we operate. Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle Executive Director European
Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Parma, March 2008 Acknowledgements This
book and the General Framework for the Precautionary and Inclusive
Governance of Food Safety that it presents and critically discusses have
grown out of research undertaken within one of the subprojects (work
package 5) of the research project SAFE FOODS, 'Promoting Food Safety
through a New Integrated Risk Analysis Approach for Foods'. The
Integrated Project SAFE FOODS has been funded by the European Commission
under the 6th Framework Programme (April 2004 to June 2008) and
coordinated by Dr H.A. Kuiper and Dr H.J.P. Marvin of RIKILT-Institute
of Food Safety at the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands.
Subproject 5 of SAFE FOODS has dealt with institutional aspects of food
safety governance with a focus on ways (procedural and structural mec-
nisms) to improve the implementation of precaution, participation and a
politi- science interface, and has been coordinated by the editors of
this book. The General Framework and this book have been a collaborative
effort of subproject 5 in which all contributors to the first part of
this book were involved. We have very much appreciated this
exceptionally fruitful cooperation. It has always been both greatly
intellectually inspiring (with many intensive, focused discussions) and
very pleasant (highly cooperative and reliable).