International News
Updated World Food Safety Almanac
Which institutions around the world are in charge of regulating food and feed safety in their respective countries? How do they fulfil their tasks? The World Food Safety Almanac of the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment provides an overview over the respective administrative structures. The online portal has been updated and now includes an improved filter and search function. Currently, the almanac profiles 39 countries.
More information: External Link:BfR World Food Safety Almanac
Risk assessment training platform
xORA is ensuring a Europe-wide overview of approved educational offers in the field of risk assessment. The EFSAshort forEuropean Food Safety Authority-funded platform, which has been available since the beginning of 2025, brings together training providers and learners. A certificate of quality guarantees that training formats are of the highest quality. The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment is involved in the platform’s implementation.
German-Korean symposium for alternative methods to animal experiments
In early November, experts from Germany and Korea met in Berlin to discuss scientific progress regarding the development of alternative methods to animal experiments as well as to expand international scientific collaboration. The aim was to develop and apply new methods for biomedical research and chemical assessment derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells, organoid cultures, organ-on-a-chip systems, and similar innovations. Funding was provided by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Korean Research Foundation (NRF).
Conclusion of the BfR Tunisia project
An event in Tunis in November marked the conclusion of the five-year project “Strengthening food safety and consumer health protection in Tunisia”. The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment and the German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVLshort forGerman Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety) jointly coordinated the project. Thanks to scientific conferences, workshops, train the trainer programmes, and a year-long leadership programme, over 550 Tunisian experts and leaders from eight ministries, subordinate authorities, and universities and research institutions benefited from training measures on risk management and risk assessment.
More information: Tunisia project flyer (PDF) External Link:Projektflyer Tunesien (PDF)
Internal affairs
Freshly appointed Scientific Advisory Board
For the sixth appointment period (2025–2029), 18 scientists from different universities and non-university research institutions were appointed to the Scientific Advisory Board at the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. They work in various fields, including food chemistry, food hygiene and food analysis, nutrition, toxicology and epidemiology, as well as psychology, communication sciences, statistics and animal welfare. Professor Dr Monika Pischetsrieder from the University Erlangen- Nuremberg is the chairperson.
The committee provides expert scientific advice to the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment in questions of strategic development and filling department leadership positions. It also supports evaluations conducted by the Science Council and advises the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment on the appointment of renowned scientists to the committees located at the Institute.
More information: External Link:Scientific Advisory Board at the BfR
