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Under the microscope from a young age

22/2024, 12.07.2024

The new issue of the BfR2GO Science Magazine details how risk assessment takes children’s specific needs into account

Children pose a unique challenge to risk assessment –– and are the main topic of the new issue of BfR2GO. Just like the elderly or the immunocompromised, young people are among the most vulnerable consumers. “Children are not small adults,” says Professor Andreas Hensel, President of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). “Their bodies have very specific needs and unique sensitivities. This must be taken into consideration when it comes to health risk assessment.” Scientists at the BfR examine which quantities of which substances children are exposed to through food, products, and chemicals. Their results are part of the BfR's risk assessment and thus form the basis for political decision-making.

https://www.bfr.bund.de/en/publication/
bfr2go__issue_1_2024__main_topic__children-316459.html

As a child’s body is still growing and maturing, their organs and tissues can be more sensitive to undesired substances. “In relation to their body weight, children have a significantly higher energy requirement than adults, due to growth and their urge to move. This means they have to eat more – and are therefore at risk of consuming more problematic substances, too,” says BfR Vice President Professor Tanja Schwerdtle. Children’s curiosity can also harm them if it leads them to put things such as household chemicals or button cells into their mouths and choke. The interview with Tanja Schwerdtle in the new BfR2GO issue includes more insights into health risks for the young as well as new research approaches.

In addition to the main topic, the new issue also examines the food supplement melatonin as well as the health risks that can arise from preserving foods, for example those from one’s own garden.

The article about the MEAL study details how the BfR prepared 356 foods and dishes in order to find out how many undesirable substances people in Germany consume through their food. The BfR succeeded in accounting for 90% of the population’s diet.

The new BfR2GO issue shines a light on the downward trend of antibiotic use in animal husbandry as well as the path travelled by plant protection products before they are allowed to enter the EU market. Readers explore the complex process required to approve active ingredients in plant products.

The new issue of BfR2GO also covers how well the BfR fared in its evaluation by the Science Council as well as nanomaterials in bodycare and beauty products, the regulations on certain health-hazardous phthalates, and animal-free methods for studying the effect of chemicals on the thyroid. As always, the BfR2GO Science Magazine is compact and knowledge-packed and provides up-to-date and well-founded information about research and the assessment of this research in consumer health protection and for the protection of laboratory animals.

Each issue of BfR2GO presents an issue related to one of the BfR’s current fields of work as the main topic. It additionally includes reports, interviews, and news from all of the BfR’s areas of work. The current magazine issue also contains a survey in which readers are invited to share their opinion on BfR2GO.

The magazine is published on the BfR website in both German and English and can be downloaded for free or ordered for perusal free of charge. Anyone who wishes to receive future issues of BfR2GO can subscribe for free at:

https://www.bfr.bund.de/en/science_magazine_bfr2go.html

You can find the survey about the magazine until 30 September 2024 at:

https://www.soscisurvey.de/BfR2GO/?l=eng

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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