Making food safer across continents
The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has signed a Joint Declaration of Intent with the Costa Rican Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) and the University of Costa Rica (UCR) to intensify their cooperation on consumer health protection. It was signed on April 26, 2024 by Francisco Gamboa Soto, Minister of the MEIC, Dr Gustavo Gutiérrez Espeleta, Rector of the UCR and Professor Dr Dr Dr h.c. Andreas Hensel, President of the BfR. The UCR carries out health risk assessments in the area of food safety for the MEIC. The trilateral cooperation, which will initially run for five years, will focus on the close exchange of scientific findings and new technical developments in this field.
Costa Rica is currently one of four countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region that is already a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an association of currently 38 industrialized countries that coordinate their economic, trade and development policies. The region has close economic ties with Germany and the other countries of the European Union (EU). Due to its climatic conditions, the Latin American country is a major exporter of fruits such as pineapples, bananas and coffee - foods that are also very popular in Germany. The BfR will support its Costa Rican partners with expertise on how food safety can be strengthened locally and along the supply chain.
The memorandum of understanding on cooperation with Costa Rica also heralds the third Latin American and Caribbean Risk Assessment Symposium (LARAS), a symposium co-initiated by the BfR that will contribute to the new approach to food safety in the South American region. It will be held in Costa Rica in December 2024. LARAS aims to strengthen risk assessment in the context of risk analysis by creating opportunities for collaboration and networking. Trust between stakeholders in the region must be strengthened in order to create future institutional cooperation. This not only helps national and regional structures and institutions, but also improves risk analysis in the long term.
Press Release in Spanish
Alimentos más seguros en todos los continentes (PDF file,188.70 KB)
About the BfR
The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is a scientifically independent institution within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture (BMEL). The BfR advises the Federal Government and the Federal States on questions of food, chemicals and product safety. The BfR conducts independent research on topics that are closely linked to its assessment tasks.