Why are CFIA product safety assessments “science-based”?
The key feature of a good safety assessment is that it is reproducible-conclusions should follow from evidence and should not depend on who is doing the assessment. The methods used in the natural sciences provide three features serving this goal. First, the most basic evidence in the natural sciences is empirical, which means that scientists gather important information by directly observing nature. Second, it is a custom in the natural sciences to standardize judgments and, thus, render these decisions reproducible. Third, it is common in the sciences for data to be reviewed by scientists other than those who produced the data. This is done so that quality standards are followed and to allow for shared judgments of difficult issues-this co-operative approach also serves the goal of the reproducibility of regulatory decisions.
