The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (German: Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung), abbreviated BfR, is a body under public law of the German federal government with full legal capacity. The institute comes under the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (German: Bundesministeriums für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft, BMEL) and has the task of providing scientific advice to the federal government on issues relating to food safety, product safety, chemical safety, contaminants in the food chain, animal protection and consumer health protection. Further technical supervision is performed by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (chemicals safety, environmental contamination in feed and food) and the Federal Ministry of Transport (transport of hazardous goods, International Convention on Ballast Water Management, Central Command for Maritime Emergencies).
Areas of responsibility The BfR was founded in 2002. Like the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, (German: Bundesamt für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit, BVL), it was called into being in the context of the reorganisation of consumer health protection and food safety in the aftermath of the BSE crisis. So risk assessment and risk management are legally separate activities (Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 ). The BfR has more than 750 employees on staff.
The work of the BfR is based on a number of national legal regulations – including the founding law of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, the Food and Feed Code (LFGB), Protection Against Infection Act (IfSG), Plant Protection Act, Chemicals Act, Washing and Cleaning Agents Act), and Genetic Engineering Act.Legal Basis for the work of the BfR (PDF)
Its three main areas of responsibility – food safety, product safety and chemicals safety – cover a wide range of subjects.
The BfR is therefore the contact partner for questions on
the biological safety of food, for example in the case of zoonoses (these are pathogens like salmonella that can be transferred from animals to people), their research, exposure routes and prevalence microbiological toxins, for example in shellfish, or on antibiotic resistance of germs food hygiene contents of food, such as coumarin in cinnamon or the formation of benzene in carrot juice (food toxicology) food risks, for instance through food supplements, on allergies or on functional foods such as plant sterols in spreadable fats for reducing cholesterol levels genetically modified foods the contamination of food with pollutants such as dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH; PAK in German) the safety of animal feed plant protection products and biocides poisoning the safe transport of toxic substances nanotechnology in food, consumer goods or cosmetics the safety of chemicals, cosmetics, textiles, toys, water pipes, food packaging and other consumer-oriented products alternatives to animal testing
The BfR is a member of the Working Group of the German Federal Departmental Research Establishments (German: Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Ressortforschungseinrichtungen).
In accordance with its founding law, the BfR communicates its assessments independent of all political influence. This means that it is not subject to any technical supervision by law with respect to its scientific risk assessments and thus has an important scientific reference and orientation function for consumers, politics (federal and state), the economy, the media, associations and science in the case of unresolved scientific questions and during crises.
BfR departments Apart from the executive division with its staff units, the BfR currently has nine departments.
Administration The Administration department is the service provider for all of the institute's departments. It is responsible for all issues relating to infrastructure, personnel recruitment, support of employees in personnel matters, the steering and control of income and expenditure as well as the equipment and organisational and technical upkeep of the institute's premises and buildings. The department issues organisational rules for the institute and enters into service agreements with the staff council and contracts with external service providers.
Risk Communication Consumer health protection comprises the research, assessment and communication of risks. In this context, it is not just the risks themselves that are important, but also their communication in the media and how they are perceived. Scientific findings must be communicated in a transparent and understandable manner in order to promote rational handling of risks. The BfR has the statutory remit of communicating risks and informing the public about possible health risks and the research findings on which they are based in the fields of food safety, chemicals safety and product safety. To this end, the BfR enters into an active dialogue with various contact partners from science, trade and industry, political circles, the media, associations, non-governmental organisations and consumers. Besides target-group oriented press and public relations, this communication process entails the active involvement of various interest groups in expert meetings, status seminars, consumer protection forums, stakeholder conferences and public symposia.
The interdisciplinary Risk Communication department conducts research projects on risk perception, early risk detection and risk impact assessment relating to new methods such as nanotechnology, changes in the nutritional behaviour of consumers following risk communication, or the prioritisation of risks by different social interest groups. As tools for this purpose social research methodes are used, e.g. representative surveys, consumer conferences, delphi questionnaires and focus groups.
The following specialised groups are established in the department: Crisis Prevention and Coordination Risk Research, Perception, Early Detection and Impact Assessment Press and Public Relations Scientific Event Management
Exposure A key task of the department for Exposure is the analysis, modelling and estimation of consumer exposure to the undesirable substances and microbiological hazards to be assessed by the BfR. According to the definition "risk = hazard x exposure", it checks for every risk assessment whether and in which concentration consumers are exposed to hazardous noxious agents and thus describes the magnitude of a risk. In addition, the department takes on a number of scientific service functions for the BfR.
The following specialised groups are established in the department: Transport of Dangerous Goods Poisoning and Product Documentation Centre Epidemiology, Statistics and Mathematical Modelling Exposure Assessment and Exposure Standardisation Information Technology GLP Federal Bureau for Good Laboratory Practice
Biological Safety In the scope of the statutory remit of risk assessment in the area of food safety and consumer protection, the department for Biological Safety deals with health risks for humans, in particular those posed by toxins formed by microorganisms and other microbial metabolites. These include bacteria, yeast and mould, but also viruses, parasites and TSE pathogens ( prions). This work encompasses not only food, but also animal feed and consumer goods (such as appliances for processing food, food packaging materials, tableware) as well as cosmetics, including the processes relating to their collection, manufacture, processing and distribution, as these can be channels for biological risks.
The tasks include diagnostic methods for detecting pathogens in food, their virulence properties, work on the prevalence of microbiological hazards in food, and qualitative and quantitative risk assessments. The department is involved in establishing the cause of outbreaks of foodborne diseases and zoonoses (statutory task laid down in the Protection Against Infection Act).http://Federal_Ministry_of_Health_%28Germany%29
A number of reference laboratories for the diagnosis and fine typing of pathogens, antibiotic resistance) and microbiological contamination of food are established in the department.
The following specialised groups are established in the department: Food Technologies, Supply Chains and Food Defense Food Microbiology, Pathogen-Host Interactions Epidemiology, Zoonoses and Antimicrobial Resistance Bacterial Toxins, Food Service Diagnostics, Pathogen Characterisation, Parasites in Food Viruses in Food Product Hygiene and Disinfection Strategies
Food Safety The department for Food Safety assesses the substance risks from food. The substances for assessment may be contained naturally as ingredients in food or may be added to the food as additives or flavourings. Undesirable substances which enter food through manufacturing, storage or handling processes are also evaluated.
Furthermore, the department assesses food according to its nutritional-medical criteria. Particular focus is placed on infant nutrition here. The department makes statements on food risks and on questions of nutritional prevention.
An additional focus of the department's work is preparing statements on novel foods as well as on genetically modified food and animal feed.
Modern molecular and cell biological methods are developed and applied in the department in order to identify new biological endpoints for the risk assessment of potentially hazardous substances. Moreover, innovative detection methods as well as strategies and methods for molecular traceability and product identity of foods are developed and applied. The department is actively engaged in research in the field of molecular and biochemical food safety. It seeks to identify connections in terms of mechanisms of action with a view to developing concrete management options for consumer protection.
The following specialised groups are established in the department: Junior Research Group Nanotoxicology Effect-based Analytics and Toxicogenomics Food Toxicology Nutritional Risks, Allergies and Novel Foods Risks of Subpopulations and Human Studies
Pesticides Safety This department's work encompasses the health-related assessment of biocides, pesticides and of preparations (plant protection products and biocide products). The central tasks of the department include determination of the inherent toxic properties and dose-effect relationships, the classification and labelling of active substances in pesticides, the derivation of toxicological limit values, the determination of the exposure of humans, production animals and pets, and the derivation of risk mitigation measures and maximum residue concentrations with the aim of avoiding harmful impacts on the health of humans and animals. In addition, the department reviews analytical monitoring methods and works on the (further) development of regulatory testing and assessment strategies and technical guidelines.
The following specialised groups are established in the department: Steering and Overall Assessment – Plant Protection Steering and Overall Assessment – Biocides Toxicology of Active Substances and their Metabolites Toxicology of Products and their Safe Use Residues and Analytical Methods
Chemicals and Product Safety The work of the department for Chemicals and Product Safety encompasses the health-related assessment of chemicals in the European registration process of chemicals (REACH). The objective is to ensure toxicological assessment, health risk assessment for consumers and the identification and initiation of necessary risk mitigation measures in accordance with the REACH REG. Assessments are also carried out with the aim of classifying and labelling substances in accordance with the CLP Regulation (EC) 1272/2008.