BfR cooperates with Austrian sister agency, AGES

BfR has signed a cooperation agreement with the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES). The agreement was signed in Vienna on 13 December 2006 by the President of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel, and the Director of the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Dr. Bernhard Url. The main areas of cooperation are the exchange of scientific information on risk assessment, the carrying out of joint research projects and the exchange of staff with a view to sharing each other’s knowledge. There are also plans for joint risk communication strategies, publications and events. The first project will be a joint risk assessment of Listeria monocytogenes, a food germ that is causing a growing number of infections in humans in both countries. The cooperation agreement was presented to the public at large in Berlin during the International Green Week.

The picture shows Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel, President of the BfR (left) and Dr. Bernhard Url, Director of the AGES (right).