22
BfR-Jahresbericht 2012 |
| BfR Annual Report 2012
„Für die Bewertung vermeintlicher und tatsächlicher
Risiken ist eine nüchterne, wissenschaftliche
Einschätzung durch Institutionen wie das BfR
unerlässlich.“
Objective scientific assessment from institutions like the BfR is
essential for the risk assessment of the supposed and actual risks.
Interview with BfR President Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel
What was the idea behind the founding of the BfR?
Trust in political institutions was severely shaken by the BSE crisis
at the turn of the millennium and consumer health protection was
reorganised throughout Europe as well as in Germany. The scientific
assessment of risks was to be functionally, politically and financially
independent and perform the task of advising politics and manage-
ment purely on the basis of scientific findings. In the course of the
restructuring of the authorities in Berlin, the BfR was founded in
2002 as the successor institute to the Federal Institute for Consumer
Health Protection and Veterinary Medicine.
How successful was the BfR in performing its tasks?
The separation of risk assessment and risk management was a
good move, because with this institutional separation, we managed
to overcome the most severe food crisis since World War II, the
EHEC outbreak in 2011. Objective scientific assessment is essen-
tial for the investigation and assessment of the supposed and actual
risks of foods, chemicals and consumer products. An institution like
Interview mit
Präsident Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel
Welcher Gründungsgedanke steht hinter dem BfR?
Durch die BSE-Krise war das Vertrauen in die politischen In-
stitutionen zur Jahrtausendwende stark erschüttert und der
gesundheitliche Verbraucherschutz wurde sowohl in Europa
als auch in Deutschland neu organisiert. Die wissenschaft-
liche Bewertung von Risiken sollte fachlich, politisch und
finanziell unabhängig sein und die Aufgabe haben, Politik
und Management ausschließlich aufgrund wissenschaft-
licher Erkenntnisse zu beraten. Im Zuge des Umbaus der
Behörden in Berlin wurde das BfR im Jahr 2002 als Nachfol-
geinstitution des Bundesinstituts für gesundheitlichen Ver-
braucherschutz und Veterinärmedizin gegründet.
Wie erfolgreich war das BfR bei der Umsetzung seiner Auf-
gaben?
Die Trennung von Risikobewertung und Risikomanagement
hat sich bewährt. Wir haben mit dieser institutionellen Tren-
nung schließlich die schwerste lebensmittelbedingte Kri-
se nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg, den EHEC-Ausbruch von
2011, bewältigt. Für die Aufklärung und Bewertung ver-
meintlicher und tatsächlicher Risiken von Lebensmitteln,
Chemikalien und Verbraucherprodukten ist eine nüchterne,
the BfR, which is independent in its scientific work and free of all
influences, is the prerequisite for placing the greatest possible level
of trust in the specialised decisions of the state executive.
What were the most significant developments at the institute in the
last ten years?
Since its establishment, the BfR has expanded its expertise in the
fields of biological safety, as well as food and chemical safety. New
tasks have been added in recent years, such as risk communica-
tion, product safety and animal welfare. The set-up of correspond-
ing departments shows that the institute is facing up to the chal-
lenges of consumer health protection and consistently pursuing
its goal of taking on a pioneer role in science-based, independent
risk assessment. A high degree of transparency makes the assess-
ments produced by the BfR easy to follow and understand.
The BfR greatly treasures its independence. How does it ensure it?
Numerous processes and measures have been established to se-
cure the independence of the BfR. Our risk assessments and all
other official tasks are performed exclusively by BfR personnel who
are obliged to comply with the regulations governing impartial ad-
ministration and protection against corruption. The overall concept
of the BfR explicitly stipulates exchange with all interest groups.
On the occasion of our tenth anniversary last year, for example, we
