International Liaison Group on Methods for Risk Assessment of Chemicals in Food and Feed (ILMERAC)

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International Liaison Group on Methods for Risk Assessment of Chemicals in Food and Feed (ILMERAC)

About us

The International Liaison Group on Methods for Risk Assessment of Chemicals in Food and Feed (ILMERAC) is a network of more than 25 governmental und intergovernmental organisations, which are active in the field of food and feed safety at the global level. ILMERAC was founded in 2018 under the auspices of the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA). EFSA hosted the Scientific Secretariat of ILMERAC for two consecutive terms, from 2018 through 2023.

During the period 2024-2026, the Scientific Secretariat is hosted by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR).

Mission Statement

ILMERAC is driven by the need to facilitate global collaboration in chemical food safety. We create synergies between participating scientists and institutions and exchange best practices and new developments in the field of chemical risk assessment.

Who we are

ILMERAC is comprised of member and observer organisations, which constitute the Coordinating Committee. The mandate of the Coordinating Committee is to provide strategic guidance and determine scientific priorities of the Group. It also steers the application process of new member and observer organisations.

Below is a list of member and observer organisations.

Member Organisations		Country

ACHIPIA	Chilean Food Quality and Safety Agency	Chile
ANSES	French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety	France
ANVISA	Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency	Brazil
BfR	German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment	Germany
BPI	Benaki Phytopathological Institute	Greece
CFIA	Canadian Food Inspection Agency	Canada
CFSA	China National Centre for Food Safety Risk Assessment	China
CNSA	National Center for Environmental Health	Spain
EFSA	European Food Safety Authority	Italy
FSANZ	Food Standards Australia New Zealand	Australia, New Zealand
FSCJ	Food Safety Commission Secretariat	Japan
HC	Health Canada	Canada
KIT	Korea Institute of Toxicology	Republic of Korea
MPI	Ministry for Primary Industries	New Zealand
NIFDS	National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation	Republic of Korea
RIVM	National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, The Netherlands	The Netherlands
SCAHT	Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology	Switzerland
SFA	Singapore Food Agency	Singapore
UCD	University College Dublin	Ireland
US FDA	Food and Drug Administration	USA

Observer Organisations		Country

AMCNSOLUCIONES	AMCNSOLUCIONES	Peru
DG Sante	European Commission, Health and Food Safety Directorate General	Belgium
FAO	Food and Agriculture Organisation	Italy
FSA	Food Standards Agency	United Kingdom
GFORSS	Global Food Regulatory Science Society / Affiliate to the International Union of Food Science and Technology	Canada
NVWA	Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority	The Netherlands
OECD	Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development	France
SFDA	Saudi Food and Drug Administration	Saudi Arabia
US DA/FSIS	Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service	USA
US EPA/OPP	Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Office of Pesticide Programs	USA
WHO	World Health Organization	Switzerland

Objectives

Recent international harmonisation efforts have resulted in more consistent approaches in risk assessment of chemical substances in food and feed. Inconsistencies in their application can result in considerable differences in risk assessment outputs. Such differences can create undue confusion among scientists, risk managers and in the public at large.

To keep up with the evolution of science, cooperation between agencies conducting risk assessments informing regulatory measures in the area of food and feed safety is crucial. Food safety research and the development of new tools, concepts and models will lead to new insights. The validation, implementation and acceptance of these potential improvements by the risk assessors take time. The resources required to innovate methodologies often compete with the experts’ time needed to carry out the numerous assessments included in the agencies’ work programmes. Cooperation between regulatory risk assessment agencies worldwide will help ensure consistency in addressing the common challenges in the area of chemical risk assessment.

The work of ILMERAC is thus guided by following objectives:

Support the development of new risk assessment methodologies

Improve the consistency of the methods used for risk assessment of chemicals in food and feed by organisations with a risk assessment mandate at national and supranational level