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 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.
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 (PAK) 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.