Das Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung

News

Grüne Woche: The BfR shrinks its guests to the size of bacteria

This year's Grüne Woche takes place from 17 to 26 January and the BfR stand (No. 307) can be found in Hall 3.2 “Event Farm”.

Foot-and-mouth disease in cloven-hoofed animals: no hazard to humans through food consumption

Germany had been considered FMD-free since 1988, butin January 2025the virus was detected in a water buffalo in Brandenburg.

UFI code to provide clear identification of detergent and cleaning agent mixtures and save lives

From 2025, the code will be mandatory for all household products classified as hazardous

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) – How can people become infected?

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are bacteria which can cause, among other diseases, wound infections and inflammation of the respiratory tract in humans and are resistant to certain antimicrobials. The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has compiled Frequently Asked Questions about MRSA and their presence in the food supply chain.

Product Notifications and Poisonings

The Institute

The Institute was set up in November 2002 to strengthen consumer health protection. It is the scientific agency of the Federal Republic of Germany which is responsible for preparing expert reports and opinions on food and feed safety as well as on the safety of substances and products.

BfR endeavours to constantly undertake topical assessments of the risks associated with foods - be it from heavy metals, pesticide residues, toxic ingredients or the like (substance risks), be it from bacteria, viruses or fungi (microbial risks) or be it risks from novel technologies in food production (novel foods).

For health assessment the decisive factor is whether and, if so, on what scale consumers come into contact with the substances contained in the products and what health risks these might entail. This requires knowledge about the numerous substances, materials and their processing into various products.

Chemicals are encountered in almost all areas of daily life. That's why stiff requirements must be imposed to ensure the safe handling of chemicals. The proper handling of chemicals may not constitute a risk to the health of man or to the environment.