[2][3] ENSSER organizes conferences on a variety of topics, with participants from governmental institutions, Universities and organisations.

[4] According to the official website, ENSSER brings together independent scientific expertise to develop public-good knowledge for the critical assessment of existing and emerging technologies.

[5] Commentators have observed that the ENSSER "jumped into the middle" of the GMO debate by "pointing out that there is no scientific consensus on the safety of GMOs".

[7] In 2013, the ENSSER defended Gilles-Eric Seralini after his study linking genetically modified food to cancer was retracted.

[8][9][10] ENSSER members include Hans Rudolf Herren, winner of the 1995 World Food Prize and the 2013 Right Livelihood Award, Angela Hilbeck, senior scientist at the Institute of Integrative Biology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.