In this issue
Dear readers
As the new Vice-President of the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, I am delighted to present the current issue of our BfR2GO science magazine to you. The main focus of this issue is on the topic of food supplements and the widespread misconceptions about them within the general population. One of the most common assumptions is that food supplements are freely available (and officially tested) medical drugs.
This misconception is the reason that supermarket and pharmacy shelves are stocked full of pills and powders containing vitamins and minerals. However, people eating a balanced diet can typically do without these “supplements”.
Of course, science is not free from misunderstandings either. “Why Most Published Research Findings Are False” – this provocatively-titled study, published by medical researcher John Ioannidis from Stanford University 20 years ago, laid bare the technical issues prevailing among scientific studies. Since then, a lot has improved, as Ioannidis says in the interview. Learning from past mistakes is a way to contribute to scientific progress. And progress is something you will find in many topics covered by the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, including barbecuing, spicy foods, replacing animal experiments with miniature organs, and a whole lot more in the pages of this magazine.
I wish you an intellectually nourishing read!
Dr Tewes Tralau
BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment Vice-President
