13
Committees
A total of 15 scientific expert committees advise the
BfR in questions relating to the safety of food and feed,
chemicals and products, nutrition, risk research and risk
perception. These networks pool the expertise available
in Germany at the highest scientific level and also form
an external quality assurance system. The approximate-
ly 200 committee members are external, independent ex-
perts who support the work of the BfR in an advisory
capacity and on an honorary basis. They come from uni-
versities and other research institutions, national and re-
gional authorities, trade and consumer associations, pri-
vate laboratories and industry.
The BfR committees each have at least ten members, who
elect a chairperson from among their ranks. The BfR pro-
vides support by taking over management tasks. Meet-
ings are normally held twice a year. The minutes of these
meetings containing the scientific views and resolutions
of the committees are made available to the general pub-
lic on the BfR website. The resolutions of the committees
have the character of advice. They are examined by the
BfR and, where applicable, they flow into assessments
and opinions issued by the BfR as reference points. This
is very different from other institutions in the EU like the
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), where expert re-
ports and opinions are not prepared by in-house scien-
tific personnel but by external members of the relevant
EFSA bodies. The advisory role of the BfR committees is
laid down in the joint rules of procedure.
Three appointment procedures have been carried out
since the BfR committees were established – in 2007,
2010, and most recently in 2013, when the public invita-
tion for applications was issued for the third appointment
period from 2014 to 2017. Several hundred qualified sci-
entists submitted applications, and the appointments
commission selected a total of 187 suitable experts from
among the ranks of these applicants to serve on the var-
ious BfR committees. The committees have meanwhile
begun their work.
Apart from the 15 BfR committees, the National Breast-
feeding Committee and the Committee of the Centre for
Documentation and Evaluation of Alternatives to Animal
Experiments (ZEBET) are also attached to the BfR.
Quality management
Authorities, and in particular scientific institutes like the
BfR, must be able to prove that they work in accordance
with internationally recognised standards, and they must
ensure this by operating a functioning quality manage-
ment system, QM system for short.
The criteria for quality-assured work activities are laid
down in international standards. The standard DIN EN
ISO/IEC 9001:2008 stipulates how business process-
es and responsibilities have to be organised in order to
guarantee high-quality work and products. The standard
DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025 lays down the rules for the man-
agement of test and calibration laboratories as well as
the technical requirements. Test laboratories which sat-
isfy the standard prove by doing so that they have the
technical competence and capability to achieve substan-
tiated results. Since 2010, all work areas of the BfR – sci-
ence, assessment, communication and administration –
have been certified in line with the quality standard DIN
EN ISO 9001:2008. The BfR's scientific laboratories have
been accredited in line with DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025 since
back in 2002.
The two quality certificates have to be renewed regular-
ly. On 9 August 2013, the independent TÜV Nord Cert
GmbH certification company once again issued a certifi-
cate confirming that the quality-assured operations at the
BfR comply with DIN EN ISO 9001:2008. Compliance with
the standard DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025 was most recently
confirmed at the BfR in the autumn of 2012 by Germany's
“DAkkS” National Accreditation Body. The DAkkS certifi-
cate issued on 26 April 2013 confirms the successful re-
accreditation of the three organisational units Analytics,
Microbiology and Toxicology together with their laborato-
ries. Their work is performed with a high level of compe-
tence, is of an internationally comparable standard, and
meets the statutory and normative requirements.
The BfR is advised by 15 scientific expert committees.
Meetings generally take place twice a year.
About the BfR
