Department Safety in the Food Chain

The focal points of the work of the Safety in the Food Chain Department with its four Units include the assessment of risks resulting from the intake of contaminants, residues and other undesirable substances from food or feed.

The National Reference Laboratories for Dioxins and PCBs in Food and Feed, for Mycotoxins, for Marine Biotoxins, and for Additives in Animal Nutrition as well as the Senior Expert Office for the Import Control of Wine are attached to the Department.

Further key topics are product identity, product chains and the traceability of food products. In this area, the Department develops strategies and methods for the authenticity testing of feed and food. In the area of pharmacologically active substances and veterinary drugs, the Department assesses the risks of residues in food products of animal origin.

One of the core activities is the initiation and realisation of research projects, such as the project for the development of detection methods for contaminants or other substances for which there are indications of hazard potential within the framework of early risk detection.

The feed safety working area comprises all stages of the feed production chain, starting with primary production, through feed production, to the feeding of production animals and pets. Animal experiments are conducted on agricultural livestock in order to determine the carry-over of undesirable substances from feed to food products obtained from animals.

In addition, the Department also conducts research in fields such as the further development of concepts for the detection of potentially toxic substances and their metabolites in food and feed.

Department 8 comprises the following units:

• Unit 81: Residues
• Unit 82: Contaminants
• Unit 83: Product Identity, Supply Chains and Traceability
• Unit 84: Feed and Feed Additives
• Unit 85: Plant Toxins and Mycotoxins