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BfR-Committees

15 national expert panels on food safety and consumer protection advise the Institute. At least ten independent external experts have been appointed to each BfR Committee who input their expertise into the Institute´s work on a volontary basis. This expert network gives BfR access to expertise on the highest scientific level for its risk assessments of food, feed, chemicals, consumer products and other articles of daily use as well as on risk research and risk perception. With this expert network BfR bundles expertise on the highest scientific level for risk assessment and inputs it into international bodies. Furthermore, through the medium of the BfR Committees advice can be sought from an established network of experts not just in crisis situations. The Committees are assisted by BfR working groups.

Since 2008 the BfR Committees have advised the Insitute. In the wake of the new appointment of the Committees, a newly set up BfR Committee for Risk Research and Risk Perception has started its activities in 2011.

The BfR Committees

• Consumer Products
• Assessment of Intoxications
• Biological Hazards
• Nutrition, Dietetic Products, Novel Foods and Allergies
• Exposure Assessment and Standardisation
• Feeds and Animal Nutrition
• Genetically Modified Food and Feed
• Hygiene
• Contaminants and Other Undesirable Substances in the Food Chain
• Cosmetics
• Food additives, Flavourings and Processing Aids
• Pesticides and their Residues
• Pharmacologically Active Substances and Veterinary Medicinal Products
• Risk Research and Risk Perception
• Wine and Fruit Juice Analyses

Additional expert committees

• National Breastfeeding Committee
• ZEBET Advisory Committee

Appointment procedure

BfR has chosen a transparent procedure for the selection of the external experts to sit on the BfR Committees and issued a public call for applications by interested experts. The experts were selected by an appointing panel consisting of members of the BfR Scientific Research Council, the chair persons of the Senate Commissions on Food Safety and on Substances and Resources in Agriculture of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and a member of the Governing Board of the Senate of Federal Research Agencies.

At least ten external, independent experts, each an outstanding expert in his/her respective field of science, are appointed to each BfR Committee. The appointed experts predominantly hold a post-graduate university degree and have extensive professional experience in a relevant field of science. Selection procedures were conducted for the appointments of experts for the periods 2008 to 2010 and 2011 to 2013.

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