BfR Annual Report 2015

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11
Position in the field of consumer
health protection
The BfR was founded as a federal authority with a legal
capacity within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of
Food and Agriculture (BMEL). Its remit is based among
other things on the statutory act establishing the BfR.
Legislation has also defined the work activities of the
institute in more than ten other laws – including the Ger-
man Plant Protection Act, the German Genetic Engineer-
ing Act, the German Food and Feed Code, and the laws
governing chemicals.
i The legal foundations of the BfR in detail:
In a federal system like the one in Germany, responsibility
for consumer health protection is divided up between the
national and regional levels. Laws and regulations that
serve consumer health protection are established by the
German government and parliament. The BfR advises
the federal ministries on the preparation of legal regula-
tions. It assesses health risks in a scientific process and
outlines options for action to minimise risks. These rec-
ommendations are translated into protective measures
for the consumer by management action on a national
government level.
About the BfR
Many legal regulations governing consumer protection
are prepared on European level in the meantime, and
the BfR is also involved in the drafting of these European
provisions for consumer protection. Its experts are repre-
sented in numerous EU scientific advisory bodies.
In Germany, it is the job of the authorities in each federal
state to monitor compliance with national and European
legal regulations in the area of consumer health protec-
tion. The BfR itself does not perform a monitoring func-
tion, but it supports Germany's federal states in this task
by developing and establishing analytical methods for
monitoring purposes, for example, or by taking a stance
with regard to evaluation on topical issues in the field of
consumer health protection. The BfR is also involved in a
number of registration and approval procedures.
Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL)
Ministries and subordinated authorities of the 16 federal states
For justified consumer protection
measures, the current state of
scientific knowledge is first ascer-
tained from the Federal Institute
for Risk Assessment. In contrast,
the Federal Office of Consumer
Protection and Food Safety and
the Federal Ministry of Food and
Agriculture are responsible for man-
agement tasks at the federal level.
Federal Institute for Risk
Assessment (BfR)
Federal Office of Consumer
Protection and Food Safety (BVL)
>>
The BfR assesses health
risks scientifically and
marks out courses of
action to minimise risks.