1.1 BACKGROUND  1.1.2. About this procurement  1.1.1 About EFSA  The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is a European Agency funded by the European  Union that operates independently of the European legislative and executive institutions  (Commission, Council, Parliament) and EU Member States. The  EFSA’s  overall mission is  two-fold: to deliver independent, high-quality and timely scientific advice on risks in the  food chain, from farm to fork, in an integrated manner and to communicate on those risks,  in an open manner to all interested parties and the public at large. EFSA works with  Member States, European bodies, international and third country organisations to share  information, data and best practices, identify emerging risks and develop coherent  communications on risks in the food chain. As the risk assessor, EFSA produces scientific  opinions and advice that form the basis for European policies and legislation. Its remit  covers food and feed safety, nutrition, animal health and welfare, plant protection and  plant health. EFSA also considers, through environmental risk assessments, the possible  impact of the food chain on the biodiversity of plant and animal habitats. Grants and procurement calls are launched by EFSA as part of  EFSA’s scientific cooperation  strategy. These calls for external support help the Authority to respond more effectively  and flexibly to its growing workload, particularly in the core areas of data collection,  provision of scientific advice and evaluation of regulated products.  Article 30 of the General Food Law (Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 2 ) lays down the  requirement of EFSA exercising vigilance to identify at an early stage, any potential source  of scientific divergences between its scientific opinions and those issued by other European  bodies carrying out similar tasks with the aim to resolve such divergences.  Article 32d of the  “Transparency Regulation” ( Regulation (EU) 2019/1381 of the European  Parliament and of the Council 3 ) states that the European “ Commission, in exceptional  circumstances of serious controversies or conflicting results, may request the Authority to  commission scientific studies with the objective of verifying evidence used in its risk  assessment process. The studies commissioned may have a wider scope than the evidence  subject to verification ”.  EFSA´s grant and procurement budget embeds for this purpose  verification studies on an annual basis from 2021 onwards. However, in the absence of a  specific request under Article 32d of Regulation (EU) 2019/1381 by the European  2 Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down  the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and  laying down procedures in matters of food safety. OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1 – 24. 3 Regulation (EU) 2019/1381 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on the transparency  and sustainability of the EU risk assessment in the food chain and amending Regulations (EC) No 178/2002,  (EC) No 1829/2003, (EC) No 1831/2003, (EC) No 2065/2003, (EC) No 1935/2004, (EC) No 1331/2008, (EC)  No 1107/2009, (EU) 2015/2283 and Directive 2001/18/EC. OJ L 231, 6.9.2019, p. 1-28.$_{ }$ 4  PART 1 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS - WHAT DOES EFSA NEED TO  BUY THROUGH THIS PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE?