Cooperation in the field of food safety is being further intensified in Europe
To mark the occasion of the 61st EFSA Advisory Forum in the last week of September in Bratislava, all Advisory Forum members of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) signed a External Link:Declaration of Commitment. The ratification of this declaration sends out a strong signal for further intensive cooperation and networking of the food safety authorities of the Member States with EFSA and among themselves. By organising this year's eighth German EFSA Focal Point meeting, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has made a valuable contribution to this undertaking. "The evaluation of our work shows how great the significance of EFSA is for the German institutions in question and how important it is to be able to rely on a functional, established network in times of crisis," says BfR President Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel. To guarantee the exchange of information in a federal system, the BfR is also in contact with the competent authorities of the federal states ("Laender") responsible for monitoring measures in consumer protection. A further goal is to embed more specialised German knowledge on a European level.
Measures to strengthen cooperation at a national and international level and further intensify the interactions of German institutions with EFSAshort forEuropean Food Safety Authority were discussed during an interactive workshop at the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. The EFSAshort forEuropean Food Safety Authority Focal Point at the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment will take the lead in implementing these measures in 2017.
A new EFSAshort forEuropean Food Safety Authority instrument to ensure scientific excellence in risk assessment and promote up-and-coming scientific talent is the EU-FORA Fellowship Programme (The EUropean FOod Risk Assessment Fellowship Programme). The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment supports this project and is a member of the programme committee. A work group was also formed at the EFSAshort forEuropean Food Safety Authority advisory forum at the initiative of the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment to build up international capacity in risk assessment.
The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment regularly invites members of the EFSAshort forEuropean Food Safety Authority scientific networks to the annual EFSAshort forEuropean Food Safety Authority Focal Point meetings so that they can present their work and for the strengthening of the cooperation with the networks. The food ingredients and packaging network was introduced this time. European expertise in this field is consolidated here in order to identify and minimise potential food safety risks that can be posed by materials that come in contact with foods.
About the EFSA Focal Point at the BfR
The EFSAshort forEuropean Food Safety Authority Focal Points in the EU Member States, Iceland and Norway constitute a key instrument for a comprehensive and continuous exchange of knowledge and data on the health risks that can be posed by foods and feeds. The German EFSAshort forEuropean Food Safety Authority Focal Point is located at the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment from where all of the institutions and authorities involved in food and feed safety, nutrition as well as animal and plant health, in Germany are linked together.
About the BfR
The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) is a scientifically independent institution within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMELshort forGerman Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture) in Germany. It advises the Federal Government and Federal Laender on questions of food, chemical and product safety. The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment conducts its own research on topics that are closely linked to its assessment tasks.
This text version is a translation of the original German text which is the only legally binding version.