2nd BVL course on Food Safety and Risk Management 11-15 March 2019, Berlin - Bund.de

2nd BVL course on Food Safety and Risk Management
11-15 March 2019, Berlin

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TRAINING CONTENTS
The international movement of goods and the latest scientific findings repeatedly confront
food safety with new challenges. Inspired by its statutory mandate to protect consumers,
the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) would like to use this
training course to support its international partners in their efforts to increase the safety and
sustainability of the food chain in their countries of origin.

BVL does not see food safety as a steady state but far more as a dynamic process at the
interface between the latest scientific findings on potential risks, consumer expectations
around the globe in terms of the supply of high-quality safe food, and the interests of the
business community in smooth trade.

The participants in our practical training course will learn about the food safety system in
the European Union by means of lectures, practical examples and exercises. They will find
out how food surveillance functions in the European and national context.

Our experts will pass on their expertise to their international colleagues. In their presen-
tations they will demonstrate how BVL operates in its capacity as the crisis management
agency in the national, European and international context. They will touch on risk identifi-
cation aspects and, for instance, the tasks of BVL as the National Contact Point for the Eu-
ropean Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). Experts will combine theoretical
teaching units with practical examples and explain to the participants, the important task of
early monitoring and the challenge of risk and crisis management in the food safety con-
text.

Furthermore, during the course, participants will visit a European Reference Laboratory
and this will give first-hand insight into its structure and practical work.

As part of the International Training for Safer Food the Max Rubner Institute – Federal Re-
search Institute of Nutrition and Food (MRI) will present research projects on the impact
of functional food (like for instance probiotic yoghurt) or the contamination of fish and meat
with harmful substances. Participants will be also familiarised with the tasks and working
methods of the “National Reference Centre for Food Authenticity” that was set up in 2017.
German authorities like BVL and MRI form an inter-administrative network taking coordi-
nated action against “fraudulent practices” in the food supply chain. The fight against Food
Fraud is an EU priority aimed at keeping high food safety standards.

Last, but not least BVL believes that networking between government stakeholders in the
field of food safety and risk management is an important basis for tackling cross-border and
global food safety challenges. The International Training for Safer Food provides a learning
and working environment in which these important professional networks can be intercon-
nected with a view to jointly improving the safety of the food chain in an era of global trade.

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REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PARTICIPATION
We aim to have a training course at expert level. The course will be held in English. Please
ask yourself if you fulfill the following requirements:

    •   You work in a competent authority covering the relevant field in your country.

    •   You have an academic background in biology, chemistry, food chemistry, medicine,
        veterinary medicine, public health or another relevant discipline.

    •   You already have comprehensive professional experience in food/feed safety and
        risk management.

    •   You have a very good command of the English language (equivalent to the Cam-
        bridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) or TOEFLR).

It is strongly recommended to bring your own laptop to have optimal working conditions.
WLAN access will be provided.

APPLICATION
The Application form is available online: www.bvl.bund.de/saferfood

Since the number of participants is limited to 40, we ask you to apply as early as possible
and to submit duly completed documents.

Participants will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. We reserve the right to
change the order after checking the prerequisites.

Deadline for application is 9 November 2018.

We look forward to receiving your application!

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

    •   Application form with electronic signature

    •   Letter of recommendation from your supervisor, maximum 1 page
        If applicable: English proficiency certificates

CERTIFICATE

The participants will receive a certificate at the end of the training.

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PROGRAM (PROVISIONAL)

DAY 1 - 11 MARCH 2019

Session 1 - Implementation of food safety regulations in the European Union
and Germany

Development of food safety in Europe and Germany

The main body for food safety at global level is the Codex Alimentarius which has
far-reaching implications for resolving trade disputes. At EU level, food law requirements
are based on Codex standards and have been harmonised in all 28 Member States to a
great extent. In collaboration with national authorities and in consultation with its stake-
holders, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) provides independent scientific ad-
vice and clear communication on existing and emerging risks. The Federal Ministry of
Food and Agriculture (BMEL) takes its decisions concerning food safety issues on the
basis of scientifically independent assessments of the Federal Institute for Risk Assess-
ment`s (BfR). The BVL, as second institutional pillar of food safety in Germany, works on
the principle of managing risks to avoid crises and it strives to identify risks that could lead
to a crisis as early as possible.

Consumer protection and food safety in Germany – Separation of risk assessment
and risk management

You will learn about the principle of separating risk assessment and risk management au-
thorities in Germany. Therefore, you will get an introduction to the BVL and its multifaceted
role in the coordination of food safety between the German Federal Government, Federal
States and the European Union.

Introduction to risk management - Challenges in a federal republic

We will introduce into the federal political system of Germany and its consequences for the
risk management. You will learn how the BVL endeavours to achieve uniform standards of
control, analysis and surveillance programs as well as to record data in a uniform way and
to generate valuable data for Germany.

Session 2 - Authorization procedures in the context of food safety

Authorization of veterinary medicinal products – human safety aspects

Authorization procedures for veterinary medicines products (VMP) in the EU include hu-
man safety aspects as the assessment of food safety of residues in edible foodstuffs (e.g.
meat, eggs, milk and honey) and the safety for the users. The presentation will give in-
sights in the regulatory context, the scientific risk assessment process leading to health-

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based guidance values, the establishment of maximum residue limits (MRL) and the options
for risk management.

Risk management in the authorization procedure for plant protection products

Plant protection products shall not have any harmful effects on human health or animal health
and shall not have any unacceptable effect on the environment. The risk management is done
within authorization procedures where risk mitigation measures can be set as well as changes,
suspensions or withdrawals of existing authorizations due to new knowledge.

Risk management, task of the BVL concerning the European feed additive registration
procedure

Since 1970 there are existing harmonized rules concerning the registration, use and market-
ing of feed additives in the European Union. Since that time, no feed additive can be placed on
the market without undergoing a registration procedure.

You willl be educated for the legal background of the European authorisation procedure for
feed additives and the management tasks of the BVL in this context.

Authorization of genetically modified organisms – food/feed safety and environmental
considerations

Genetically modified organisms are released into the environment and to the food and feed
chain via a stepwise process: After development and testing within a containment, temporal
and spatial restricted releases are requested before an EU-wide authorization can be applied
for to place them on the market. The presentation will report on the scientific and legal require-
ments for the respective authorizations including elements of an appropriate risk assessment.

Session 3 - Tools of risk management in official controls

The Federal Control Plan – a programme for risk based official controls in Germany

The Federal Control Plan is a coordinated risk based programme of the German Federal
States. The aim is to obtain nationwide statements on compliance with food-, wine- and tobac-
co legal provisions, including protection against fraud. Especially compliance with new legal
regulations, such as newly introduced MRLs or amended labeling regulations are of interest.
Since its inception, the Federal Control Plan points to critical fields of action for competent au-
thorities and thus serves consumer protection.

Monitoring of zoonotic agents along the food chain as a risk management tool

According to Directive 2003/99/EC all member states of the EU are required to ensure that
zoonoses, zoonotic agents and related antimicrobial resistance are properly monitored and
therefore to collect relevant and comparable data along the food chain. In Germany, these re-
quirements are implemented through an annual program, named “Zoonoses Monitoring”. Be-

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sides the most important food chains of animal production, food of non-animal origin and feed
have also been included in the program to gain an overall picture.

G@ZIELT - Control of online sales of food

The online market for food is highly dynamic and rapidly growing. The German food con-
trol authorities are prepared for this trend. On behalf of and financed by the German Federal
States “Länder”, the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) is harbor-
ing the Common Central Unit “G@ZIELT”. You will learn about both the administrative aspects
and the strategies/methods used to control online sales of food (e.g. by searches based on
RASFF notifications). G@ZIELT provides information on e-vendors and online offers of haz-
ardous or misleading products for the competent local authorities empowering them to subject
these to official risk-based controls.

Data management and –analysis

Since 2000 the BVL has received about 130 million records based on reporting requirements.
For a standardized procedure, all information (about samples, test results) are coded using 27
different coding catalogs, submitted to the BVL via the Data Submission Portal and stored in a
database.

The process of data management and analysis will be presented and illustrated using the ex-
ample of the program of the Federal control plan “Trans fatty acids in baking products and re-
spective margarine“ from 2014.

DAY 2 - 12 MARCH 2019

Session 4 - The network of Reference Laboratories in the European Union

The European Reference Laboratory System for Food Control: Tasks and Responsibilities

Regulation (EU) 2017/625 defines the tasks of the EURLs and National Reference Laborato-
ries (NRLs). Their tasks are, among others, the provision of suitable residue control methods,
the assistance to NRLs in the implementation of these methods and the control of the suc-
cessful implementation by inter-laboratory comparative testing. The presentation provides an
introduction into the work of the RLs on the basis of practical examples and explains the im-
plementation of the legal requirements on the national level with the example of Germany.

Coordination and evaluation of Proficiency tests - examples from real life

The European and National Reference Laboratories have the task of organising proficiency
tests to harmonize laboratory performance in official control. The Reference Laboratories host-
ed at the BVL regularly coordinate proficiency tests in their areas of competence – veterinary
drug residues, pesticides and contaminants. Based on this experience, the talk will exempli-

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fy different approaches to the production of test materials. Strategies for evaluation and per-
formance assessment including follow-up measures and monitoring of performance over time
will be discussed.

Residue analysis of food of animal origin

The control of residues pharmacologically active substances and contaminants in prima-
ry foodstuffs of animal origin is an important task of the responsible laboratories in Germany.
In the framework of the National Residue Control Plan (NRCP) products of farm animals like
meat, fish, milk, eggs and honey are tested for residues.

DAY 3 - 13 MARCH 2019

Current developments in food authenticity

The Max Rubner-Institut, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food, will present a lec-
ture course on food authenticity in the frame of the BVL course on Food Safety and Risk Man-
agement. In this context, lectures on the discrimination of fish species, fruit cultivars and bo-
tanical families, the identification of extraneous proteins and protein hydrolysates in meat prod-
ucts, the discrimination of ecological and conventional milk and milk products and the iden-
tification of meat and milk from “exotic” animal species, among other subjects, will be held.

DAY 4 - 14 MARCH 2019

On-site visit of a food business operator and insights into the work of the control authorities in
Germany

DAY 5 - 15 MARCH 2019

Session 5 - Poster session: Food, Feed, Fraud: Alert and information systems

The interactive Poster Session comprises an overview of the different EU reporting systems
in the field of food law and food safety. The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF)
and the Administrative Assistance and Cooperation (AAC) System are highlighted in particu-
lar next to other systems and the national consumer warning web portal. Together the differ-
ent reporting systems represent one of the key tools to ensure the high food safety standards
in the European Union. Moreover, the AAC system e.g. is directly linked to the Food Fraud is-
sue. The BVL, as central coordinator in the national fight against Food Fraud, relies on report-
ing systems such as the AAC to facilitate the rapid cross-border and inter-agency exchange of
information. A suitable tool to further pursue and strengthen the inter-agency approach in the
fight of Food Fraud are the annual worldwide OPSON Operations coordinated by Europol and
INTERPOL, a topic also covered by the Poster Session.

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Session 6 - Prevention, incident & crisis management

The crisis management system in Europe and Germany

The first part of the session provides an introduction to crisis management systems at Europe-
an and national level. To meet the challenges of crisis situations, Crisis management requires
precise guidelines defining special structures and processes but at the same time guarantee-
ing a high level of flexibility. Furthermore, a continuous assessment process has to be in place
to improve the existing crisis management arrangements and to keep up with new develop-
ments. The implementation of these demands at the BVL is the central subject of the presen-
tation.

Foodborne diseases – from local outbreaks to national crises

You will learn how foodborne outbreaks of various dimensions are investigated in Germany.
Due to the Federal structure, cooperation between the food and public health sectors on the
one hand and between the German Federal states and the Federal government on the other
is necessary. In addition, you will learn how in Germany data on food-borne outbreaks are col-
lected and reported to the European Food Safety Authority.

Early risk detection and crisis prevention at the BfR

The aim of the risk detection and crisis prevention strategy of BfR is the creation of a practica-
ble cross-departmental system for the systematic early identification of risks with the support
of an internal group of experts as well as by the active participation of the BfR in the early risk
detection network of EFSA. This includes the screening of relevant data sources, the specif-
ic information assessment and the strategic initiation of further at a very early stage. Addition-
ally the consultation of scientific experts (committee system) to advise the BfR regarding risk
assessment and risk communication and issue-specific discussions with different stakeholder
groups.

Watching and Warning Systems for crisis prevention (BeoWarn)

In order to prevent future crises the BVL has developed a process to identify issues that might
turn into a crisis. You will be introduced to the methods and tools used by the team of ex-
perts involved in the identification of topics with crisis potential. As well as how informations on
these topics is gathered, processed and spread to the stakeholders. Through timely informa-
tion of the competent authorities we try to prevent the next crisis before it unfolds.