Germs in the kitchen: Salmonella better known than Campylobacter

06-Oct-2017 - What health risks are consumers aware of? What are they concerned about? The answers to these questions are provided by the BfR Consumer Monitor, a representative population survey conducted regularly by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). On the one hand it reflects the ...

Contaminants in food

Health risks of natural origin are frequently underestimated

11-Sep-2017 - Just under 60 percent of the German population view undesirable substances in food as a high or very high health risk. The most well-known of these substances, which are scientifically denoted as contaminants, are mercury compounds and dioxins. In contrast, only around 13 percent of respondents ...

Between low and high - what is the hazard potential of individual pyrrolizidine alkaloids?

Research project investigating the toxic potency of individual food-relevant pyrrolizidine alkaloids

02-May-2017 - Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are secondary plant constituents found in certain flowering plants such as the Asteraceae or Boraginaceae family. Wild plants form several hundred different PAs. Some of them probably pose a serious health hazard, while others have weaker effects. This is why ...

Anthrax, rabbit fever and brucellosis

How can the population be better protected from highly pathogenic bacteria in food?

08-Aug-2016 - Infectious diseases such as anthrax, tularaemia (rabbit fever) and brucellosis only occur rarely in Germany. However, these pathogens can do great harm if they are allowed, deliberately or by mistake, to enter the food chain. The reasons for such dissemination can be natural catastrophes such as ...

Adulterated animal-based foods to become easier to detect in future

08-Jun-2016 - Does sheep cheese contain cow milk as well? Is some pork mixed into the beef salami? These and other questions about adulteration of animal-based foods are the focus of the research project "Animal ID" of the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. "Illegal additions of meat, if detected, not only ...

Spices and herbs: Ingredients which may pose a health risk

02-Jun-2016 - Spices and herbs can be naturally or intentionally contaminated with carcinogenic pathogens or foreign matter. The latter, such as certain unauthorised colorants, are often added deliberately. The EU SPICED project was initiated in 2013 to further increase the safety of the supply chains in ...

Pathogens in food: Improvements required to protect against Campylobacter, EHEC and Listeria

09-Apr-2015 - Every year, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) prepares a report on the epidemiological situation of zoonoses in Germany. The goal is to contribute towards the prevention of diseases transmitted via food. The evaluation of the data from 2013 shows that the control of Salmonella in ...

Sufficient intake of iodine and folic acid are important for pregnant and breastfeeding women

23-Jun-2014 - Women who are planning on getting pregnant as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women should ensure that their intake of iodine and folate / folic acid is sufficient. This is the message of an updated leaflet for physicians published by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) entitled ...

Invisible enemies: Tips to ensure that viruses don’t spoil your appetite

The BfR publishes a fact sheet with recommendations on how consumers can protect themselves from viral food-borne infections

19-Dec-2013 - You can't see them, you can’t taste them - nevertheless, infectious virus particles can as a general rule be present on any food, if the rules of hygiene have been disregarded. Depending on the type of virus, they can cause nausea, diarrhoea with vomiting or even inflammation of the liver. "In ...

Where in Europe do users ingest the highest quantities of unwanted substances via food?

The BfR is involved in a European research project for harmonised exposure estimation

15-Nov-2012 - How much dioxin or acrylamide do we ingest from food on average? Are consumers in Portugal or Iceland exposed to the same amounts as consumers in Germany? Are the substance contents in foods similar and the risks therefore comparable across Europe? Answers to these questions form the basis for ...