Urgent applications to vet health claims and novel foods could languish for months in bulging in trays unless the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is granted more cash to do its job properly, its bosses have warned.

Plans to cut its 2007-13 budget when its workload was increasing could "significantly reduce EFSA's ability to provide high-quality independent scientific advice and communicate findings in a timely manner", it claimed. "This could seriously undermine food safety in Europe."

According to a report last month by Bureau van Dijk Management Consultants and Arcadia International, almost a fifth of opinions from EFSA already missed the legal deadline due to understaffing, a situation likely to get worse as the workload rises.

Staffing costs and travel expenses have also risen because of EFSA's move from its original home in Brussels to Parma, a move "widely regarded as at least unfortunate and at worst disastrous", said the report.

EFSA needed about 350 staff, claimed the report. It had just 195 staff by the end of 2005 (compared with a target of 255).

Underfunding has prompted officials to consider charging for evaluating scientific studies and vetting ingredients, packaging and food contact materials.

Chris Whitehouse, md at political consultant The Whitehouse Consultancy, said: "The cost of dossier compilation and submission is already punitive and simply unaffordable for many smaller and medium-sized companies in the sector. This could be the last straw which breaks the camel's back."