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Kick-off of the Berlin Seniors' Week

20/2024, 21.06.2024

BfR will be present with an information stand at the "Market of Opportunities"

Superfoods such as chia seeds or food supplements with vitamins and minerals are said to help you stay fit and healthy into old age. But how beneficial are they really? As part of the 50th Berlin Seniors' Week, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) will have a stand at the "Market of Opportunities" on 22 June 2024 to provide information about food supplements, novel foods and kitchen hygiene. Visitors will also learn that good kitchen hygiene is perhaps more important for health than expensive superfoods or food supplements. "Older people belong to a particularly sensitive group of people and are also particularly at risk. This makes it all the more important to know how to minimise the risks in the home kitchen", says Professor Andreas Hensel, President of the BfR. "After all, the most common cause of foodborne infections is still pathogens that enter the kitchen. This can often be prevented through hygiene measures."

The Berlin Seniors' Week will take place this year from 22 June to 29 June 2024 under the motto "Shaping the future together". In addition to kitchen hygiene, the BfR stand will also focus on food supplements. This is because senior citizens in particular often take food supplements. However, supplementation is not always advisable. Excessive dosages can lead to undesirable side effects, which not only harbour health risks but can also falsify diagnoses.

Visitors are cordially invited to talk to the experts at the BfR stand and to spin the wheel of fortune for a chance to win a prize.

The opening ceremony at the Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek at Blücherplatz 1 in Berlin will start at 10 a.m. on 22 June 2024. After a professional exchange, the "Market of Opportunities" will begin at 11.45 a.m. The “Market” will be–an information exchange with around 70 exhibitors in front of the library building – will begin at 11.45 a.m. Among others, non-profit organisations, senior citizens' representatives, institutions and various associations with special offers for senior citizens will be represented. The "Market of Opportunities" will end at 3.00 p.m.

The programme of the Berlin Seniors' Week is varied and diverse, from painting courses and readings to sports activities and neighbourhood meetings.

You can find the complete programme here: https://www.paritaet-berlin.de/fileadmin/user_upload/redaktion/pdf/2024/06_24/240514b_50berlinerseniorenwoche_programmheft_wochenprogramm_abgabe_druck-1.pdf

The programme for the opening ceremony can be found here: https://www.berlin.de/sen/soziales/besondere-lebenssituationen/seniorinnen-und-senioren/berliner-seniorenwoche/#headline_1_48

The Berlin Senior Citizens' Week serves to bring together activities for senior citizens and to draw more attention to topics relevant to senior citizens.

Further information on the BfR website on the subject of food supplements
https://www.microco.info/en/vitamine-homepage.html

Further information on the topic of novel foods
https://www.bfr.bund.de/en/novel_food-1809.html

Further information on the topic of kitchen hygiene
https://www.bfr.bund.de/en/a-z_index/kitchen_hygiene-194170.html

About the BfR

The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is a scientifically independent institution within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) in Germany. The BfR advises the Federal Government and the States (‘Laender’) on questions of food, chemicals and product safety. The BfR conducts independent research on topics that are closely linked to its assessment tasks.

This text version is a translation of the original German text which is the only legally binding version.

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