The panel shall consist of six members.

The Director-General for Health and Food Safety acting on behalf of the Commission (‘the Director-General’) shall appoint the members of the panel from a list of suitable candidates established following publication of a call for applications on the Commission's website and in the Register of Commission expert groups and other similar entities (‘Register of expert groups’). The members shall be selected on the basis of their expertise and experience in the fields of sensory, statistical and chemical analysis, and with due regard to the need to ensure independence and absence of conflicts of interests.

Persons on the list of suitable candidates who are not appointed to the panel shall be included in a reserve list of suitable candidates to replace members whose membership has ceased in accordance with Article 5(3). The Director-General shall ask applicants for their consent before including their names on the reserve list.

The list of panel members shall be published in the Register of expert groups and be made available on the relevant Commission website.