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Advanced training and networking for risk experts from all over the world

22/2015, 17.08.2015

Fourth BfR Summer Academy on the assessment and communication of food-associated risks

Global commodity flows now shape the food market. Comprehensive measures on the part of all stakeholders involved are required to ensure the safety of food worldwide and across national borders. This also includes the sound assessment and communication of risks arising from substances and microbes contained in foods. As part of the two-week Summer Academy of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), participants from 19 countries will receive advanced training in this area. “Scientists from all parts of the world can exchange ideas at the BfR Summer Academy and upskill themselves in the area of food safety”, says BfR President Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel. Under the motto “By experts for experts”, the BfR Summer Academy is being held in Berlin for the fourth time already.

For the two weeks from 17 to 28 August 2015, participants of the BfR Summer Academy will engage with risks arising from substances and microbes contained in foods.

In the lecture series of the first week, the speakers will examine the fundamentals of risk assessment and provide information on the causes and prevention of food-borne infections and food poisoning. As part of additional topics covered, methods and models of exposure estimation will be presented as well as criteria for collecting and evaluating data required for risk assessment.

The second week will focus on practical workshops. Participants will be given the opportunity to apply risk health assessment techniques to case examples such as arsenic and pesticide residue in foods.

In addition to the theory and practice of risk assessment, the Summer Academy will also provide participants with insights and training on the significance of risk communication for different target groups.

The BfR Summer Academy has taken place once a year since 2012. The target group of the training event are scientists working for government organisations concerned with food and feed safety. Most of the 36 participants this year are from Asia. The training sessions aim to inspire them to apply and pass on the newly acquired skills and insights in their own countries. Apart from intensive professional exchange, the Summer Academy gives participating scientists an opportunity to network.

About the BfR

The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is a scientific institution within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). It advises the Federal Government and Federal Laender on questions of food, chemical and product safety. The BfR conducts its own research on topics that are closely linked to its assessment tasks.

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