BfR Annual Report 2015

About the BfR

Reference laboratories

National reference laboratories work on standards for

food monitoring in order to ensure the safety of food

products throughout the entire EU. For this purpose,

17 reference laboratories in the areas of food and feed

safety and food hygiene are attached to the BfR. They

are divided into two groups: national reference labora-

tories in accordance with Regulation (EC) 882/2004 and

other BfR laboratories with a reference function.

The reference laboratories attached to the BfR pursu-

ant to regulation (EC) 882/2004 are involved in both food

chemistry analysis as well as molecular biological and

microbiological testing. They are appointed by the Fed-

eral Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). Their work

is based on various legal regulations such as the Ger-

man Food and Feed Code as well as laws and regula-

tions on consumer goods.

The main job of reference laboratories is to develop and

validate methods and to perform laboratory comparison

tests (ring trials) for the purpose of quality assurance.

The creation of national reference laboratories guaran-

tees that work is carried out in line with uniform stand-

ards all over Europe. This is of particular importance for

the monitoring and control of food products, which are

fundamentally covered by the principle of the free move-

ment of goods within the European Union. The national

reference laboratories also act as a national link between

the community reference laboratories of the EU and the

food monitoring authorities of the EU member states.

Alongside these national reference laboratories based

on EU law, there are also other institutions of the BfR that

perform a reference function in other contexts. These in-

clude the Reference Laboratory in the Network of Genet-

ically Modified Organisms, the Senior Expert Office for

the Import Control of Wine in accordance with the Wine

Monitoring Ordinance and the Zoonoses Reporting unit.

List of the national reference laboratories active

at the BfR, as well as the other laboratories with

a reference function:

Methods for the control and monitoring of foods, chemicals

and consumer products are developed and validated in the

reference laboratories.

The National Reference Laboratories ensure that work

is performed throughout Europe in line with uniform

standards, an aspect which is of particular importance

where the monitoring and control of foods are concerned.