State General Laboratory Cyprus and BfR enter into cooperation agreement

On 17 May 2010 the Director of the State General Laboratory of Cyprus (SGL), Dr. Popi Nicolaidou-Kanari, and the BfR President Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel, entered into a cooperation agreement.

The agreement envisages the ongoing exchange of information, the facilitation of communication, support for scientific projects, the exchange of experts and the joint training of experts in the various areas of food safety. Furthermore, there will be a regular exchange on the status of the cooperation process and joint projects. Through the staging of joint seminars and workshops, robust scientific cooperation will be launched and the public at large informed about the joint activities.

Consumer protection in Cyprus: BfR and Cypriot authorities have already been cooperating for some time now

The State General Laboratory advises the Cypriot Government on food safety and risk assessment issues.

The Republic of Cyprus, with its 750,000 inhabitants, has central state food control and inspection with one central laboratory for Cyprus as a whole. Besides control and inspection tasks, it also assumes risk assessment tasks. Cyprus, a typical Mediterranean agricultural country with extensive food and wine exports and an economic infrastructure heavily dependent on tourism, is particularly interested in improving food safety and consumer protection. This is the backdrop to the many years of extensive cooperation already between the two bodies, for instance in the field of wine authentication checks (proof of origin).

The cooperation agreement that has just been signed aims to further intensify joint work in the field of food safety in both countries. The two cooperation partners agree that this cooperation will strengthen consumer health protection

The photo shows Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel and Dr. Popi Nicolaidou-Kanari in the process of signing the cooperation agreement.