Animal-free chemical testing in the EU
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Further meeting on the European Commission’s Roadmap
The Animal-Free Chemical Safety Assessment (AF-CSA) Conference in Brussels brought together more than 250 experts from across the world to discuss the future of animal-free safety testing in the EU. Representatives from the European Commission, industry, EU authorities, and NGOs debated strategies, challenges, and opportunities for transitioning to chemical safety testing without animal experiments.
In early March 2025, international experts and decision-makers from around the world met in Brussels for a cross-sector, multi-stakeholder dialogue to shape a roadmap for animal-free chemical testing. The event was organized by the European Commission and the EPAA (European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing), an EU-wide industry association dedicated to replacing animal testing in regulatory contexts. Our scientific CEO, Dr. Tamara Zietek, participated as chair of our umbrella organization ECEAE and as an expert in animal-free research to advocate for the abolition of animal testing.
The meeting aimed to identify scientific gaps and research priorities to replace regulatory animal tests with non-animal methods (NAMs). A key objective was to recommend short-, medium-, and long-term measures, with the ultimate goal of eliminating animal testing in the safety assessment of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and food ingredients. These measures will be incorporated into the European Commission’s roadmap for animal-free safety testing, scheduled for publication in early 2026. The Commission initiated this roadmap in response to our European Citizens’ Initiative for an animal-free Europe. As co-initiators of the initiative, we have been actively involved in the roadmap’s development from the beginning.
The conference included introductory presentations on the Commission’s roadmap, as well as on current developments in validating non-animal methods (NAMs) for regulatory use. Panel discussions covered concepts for animal-free regulatory frameworks and improving dialogue between industry and regulatory authorities. In small working groups, participants developed strategic visions and action plans to eliminate animal testing for human health and environmental safety in chemical assessments. Another focus was designing an evaluation framework to assess the success of the roadmap during its implementation phase and beyond.
The highly valuable and largely constructive outcomes of the conference will be made publicly available in a scientific publication. The EU Commission will review the proposed recommendations for inclusion in the roadmap and present the results at the third Roadmap workshop in June 2025, which will take place at the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki. We will also be present at this event to continue advocating for the abolition of animal testing.
Further information
Dr Tamara Zietek (DAAE CEO Science) and
Dr Katy Taylor (ECEAE Consultant).
Representatives of the international 5-NGO's working together on EU level (ECEAE, EfA, PETA, HSI, CFE).