The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is seeking information regarding horse breeding practices and has outlined a two-step submission process for interested parties. This call is crucial for informing EFSA’s scientific outputs and ensuring the health and safety within the equine industry.
Step 1: Expression of Interest and Questionnaire via EU Survey
The initial step requires interested parties to express their interest and provide preliminary information by completing a questionnaire through the EU Survey tool. The survey can be accessed at https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/callfordatahorsebreeding.
Upon accessing the survey, detailed instructions will guide respondents through a series of questions related to the specific objectives of this call. It is important to note that each party can submit the survey only once. Respondents are strongly advised to carefully review their answers before final submission. The EU Survey tool allows users to save a draft of their responses before final submission by clicking the SUBMIT button.
Following a successful submission, an email containing a PDF file of the submitted responses will be sent within seven days. This PDF is essential for the second step of data submission and must be downloaded and saved.
For any assistance required during the EU Survey process, parties can contact RAL@efsa.europa.eu, with the subject line “Call for data – horse breeding practices.” The deadline for expressing interest and submitting information via EU Survey is July 15, 2025. A PDF version of the questions is available to aid in preparation.
Step 2: Official Data Submission through Portalino
The second and final step involves the official submission of data through the Portalino tool. To proceed with this step, ensure that:
- Step 1 has been completed, including the submission of the questionnaire via EU Survey and the saving of the confirmation PDF.
- The PDF file containing your responses from the EU Survey is readily available.
EFSA will only consider data submissions uploaded through Portalino. The submission of additional supporting documents is optional.
Practical guidance on accessing and submitting data via Portalino is provided below. It is important to note that registration for the Portalino tool may take several days; therefore, interested parties should factor this into their submission timeline. The deadline for submitting data through Portalino is July 23, 2025.
For assistance with Portalino, parties can contact RAL@efsa.europa.eu with the subject line “Call for data – Horse breeding practices.”
Confidentiality Policy
In adherence to proactive transparency requirements outlined in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 and EFSA’s Practical Arrangements, EFSA will make public the information forming the basis of its scientific outputs. This includes data submitted in response to this call, unless a confidential status is duly justified and granted according to Articles 39-39e of the General Food Law and EFSA’s Practical Arrangements. Urgent cases requiring protection of human health, animal health, or the environment may be subject to confidentiality assessment.
Submission of Information/Data via Portalino
All information and data must be submitted electronically and exclusively through the Submission Builder tool, “Portalino,” accessible at https://confportal.efsa.europa.eu/. Submissions via email or other third-party platforms will not be accepted.
Detailed information on using Portalino and submitting confidentiality requests is available here. Guidance on confidentiality can be found in the User Guide on Confidentiality.
When submitting data via Portalino, please clearly state in the subject line: “Call for data Horse breeding practices EFSA-Q-2024-00188″. Include the contact details (name, company/organization, email, phone number) of the responsible person and, if applicable, a list of represented business operators and their contact information.
Registration for Portalino can take several days, so early application is recommended.
When claiming confidentiality for submitted information or data, both a non-confidential (public dissemination) version and a confidential version must be submitted, as detailed here. A separate confidentiality request, with verifiable justification, must accompany each document and legal ground for confidentiality. The claimed confidential information must be clearly earmarked in the confidential version and redacted in the non-confidential version. If no confidential information is included, only a non-confidential version needs to be uploaded.
EFSA may, where legally permissible, reuse relevant information or data for the assessment of the same or other topics.
Correspondence
For any inquiries regarding this call for data, please contact RAL@efsa.europa.eu.
