We use cookies on our website. Some are necessary for the operation of the website. You can also allow cookies for statistical purposes. You can adjust the data protection settings or agree to all cookies directly.
BfR - Department 5: Food Safety (BfR - LMS)
Institution
Section overview
Description
The Food Safety Department assesses the substance risks from food. The substances for assessment may be contained naturally as ingredients in food or may be admixed to food as additives or flavourings. Undesirable substances, which reach food during manufacturing, storage or treatment processes, are also evaluated.
The Department likewise assesses foods on the basis of nutritional-medical criteria. In this context, infant formula plays an important role. The Department voices its opinion on food risks and nutritional prevention.
Another major area of the Department’s work is the elaboration of opinions in the field of novel foods and genetically manufactured food and feed.
In the Department modern molecular and cell biological methods are developed and used in order to identify new biological endpoints for the risk assessment of potentially risky substances. Furthermore, innovative detection methods and strategies/methods for the molecular traceability and product identity of food are developed and applied.
The Department is actively engaged in research in the field of molecular and biochemical food safety. It seeks to identify the mechanisms of action with a view to elaborating concrete management options for consumer protection.
The Department supports the following BfR Committees: 'Nutrition, Dietetic Products, Novel Foods and Allergies', 'Genetically Modified Food and Feed', and 'Food additives, Flavourings and Processing Aids'.
Activities
- Research
Parent institution
Coordinated projects
- 28-Day Oral Toxicity Study with 2-MCPD-Diester
- Absorption and safety of nanoscale phytosterol formulations
- Analysis and occurrence of important fusarium toxins (deoxynivalenol, zearalenone) as well as intake of these toxins by the German consumer
- Analysis of commercial Isoflavone Supplements
- Analysis of commercial Isoflavone Supplements
- Analysis of effects from trans-fatty acids on miRNA expression profiles of human colon cells
- Behaviour of zinc oxide nanoparticles in the human digestive system
- Bioavailability of 3-MCPD and 3-MCPD fatty acid esters
- Bioavailability of coumarin from cinnamon and cinnamon-containing food (human study)
- Bioavailability of cyanide from marzipan (human study)
- Biomarkers for the human internal exposure to pyrrolizidine alkaloids
- Boosting Crop Growth using Natural Product and Synthesis Enabled Solar Harvesting
- Breastfeeding behaviour of women after delivery in Berlin hospitals
- Carry over of DNA from genetically modified feed in tissue of farm animals: long-term study in quail over fifteen generations
- Chronic high consumption of energy drinks and cardiovascular risk in adolescents
- Collaborative project: Development and validation of new methods for the qualitative detection and quantification of fish, crustacea and molluscs besides of insects as potential food allergens. Subproject 1
- Collaborative project: Development of innovative rapid test and screening methods for on-site detection of food-borne allergens in product development and control – Subproject 1
- Comparison of the allergenic potential of produce of plant origin derived from organic farming with plant produce derived from conventional farming
- Content of dioxins and dioxin like PCBs in cod liver and corresponding cod muscle from different fishing grounds of the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic
- Detection of Allergens in food: a comparative study on DNA-analytical and immunological methods
- Determination of coumarin in different food samples
- Determination of furan fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acids in food
- Determination of heterocyclic aromatic amines in food
- Determination of pyrrolizidin alkaloids in milk and milk products – Carry Over Study
- Determination of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in honey
- Determination of the bovine somatotropin using HPLC and mass spectrometry
- Determination of the exposition of consumers with residues of malachite green and leucomalachite green from eels accounting for the background contamination in aquatic systems
- Determination of the isomerization and oxidation products from long-chain, polyunsaturated conjugated fatty acids in novel oils from the marine micro-alga
- Determination of the origin of hormones in cattle by Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (ISOSTER
- Determining factors of the toxicity in intestine and liver for two similar sized nanoparticles used in food and packaging: In vitro and in vivo investigation on uptake and mechanisms involved
- Determining the origin of the growth hormone with isotope ratio monitoring LC / MS (irm-LC/MS)
- Development and validation of a mass spectrometric method for the detection of forbidden animal proteins in feeding stuff
- Development and validation of efficient screening tools for the detection of allergens in food
- Development and validation of innovative methods for tracing and authentification of animal proteins in food and feed, Subproject 1
- Development of a concept for systematic health evaluation of substances with insufficient scientific data based on the example of substances that athletes foods are added
- Development of a hepatic in vitro test system for the sensitive detection of pyrrolizidine alka-loids
- Development of a Method for the Detection/Determination of Ciguatoxins
- Development of a qualitative detection method for foods/feeds derived from gene technology – elimination of the PCR step as the 'bottleneck' of the detection procedure
- Development of analytical methods and evaluation of the consumer‘s risk by furan and similar toxicants
- Development of analytical methods for the evaluation of the consumer?s risk by acrylamide and other foodborne toxicants
- Development of biomarkers for the internal exposure to the secondary plant metabolite estragole
- Development of calibration standards for qualitative and quantitative detection of genetically modified ingredients under Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003
- Development of clean-up procedures for food samples as preparation of GC/C/IRMS measurements
- Development of methods for the determination of ergot alkaloids including monitoring in food and feed
- Development of new methods for the identification of animal proteins in feedingstuff. Real-time immuno-PCR for the detection of animal bone and tissue marker 2010: Validation of an immunological method for the detection of Osteocalcin representing a stable bone tissue marker in Meat and Bone Meal (MBM)
- Development of NMR-methods for quantification of wine compounds
- Development of quantitative and qualitative molecular biological methods to identify plant and animal species in foods (MolSpec-ID)
- Development of sample clean-up procedures preparing GC-C-IRMS measuremens of residues and contaminants in food
- Dietary trans-fatty acids: Role of nuclear receptors in risk evaluation of trans-fatty acids with regard to their effects in colorectal cancer
- Differential expression of glutathione-S-transferases in Caco-2 cell line as indicator of the effects of phytochemicals
- Differentiation of herring, cod and flounder populations from different fishing grounds of the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic by DNA-analysis
- Dosimetry of Nanoparticles in in vitro experiments
- Effect of folate oversupplementation on the methylation status of tumour suppressor genes in immortalized human colon epithelial cells.
- Effect of folate oversupplementation on the proliferation and the expression of relevant genes in colon carcinoma cells
- Effect of plant sterols star on the protein pattern in blood mononuclear cells of healthy women
- Effects of different dietary Se-sources for cows on Se-bioavailability from their milk
- Effects of High Pressure Treatment on fat and pathogens
- Effects of natural occuring fatty acids on the bioavailability and the metabolism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by taking the example of benzo[a]pyrene
- Elaboration of an analytical method for the determination of residues of hexogene and other explosives in fish
- Elaboration of prerequisites for an expertise about the exposition of consumers with fusarium toxins
- Endocrine effects of perfluorinated compounds (PFAS)
- Epigenetic regulation of cancer-relevant pathways in colon intestinal epithelial cells by microRNAs depending on the folate supply
- Establishing of a wine data bank for analytical parameters for wines from Third Countries (WINE DB)
- Establishment of a 3D model using primary human epithelial breast stem cells to identify tumorigenesis markers
- European Human Biomonitoring Initiative
- Evaluating the impact of treatment using pulsed electric fields
- Evidence of a possible formation of benzene from benzoic acid in beverages
- Extension of an animal study on bioavailability and metabolisation of 3-MCPD esters
- Fatty acids as endocrine disruptors: Influence of chain length, branched chains and multiple bonds of fatty acids on the activity of the estrogen receptors ER-Alpha and ER-Beta
- Gene expression profiling to elucidate the cancerogenic effects of breakdown products of 1-Methoxyindol-3-methylglucosinolates (MIM-GL) from Brassica vegetables
- Genotoxicity of flavouring substances
- Genotoxicity of heat-induced food contaminants
- GM (genetically modified) and non-GM supply chains: their co-existence and traceability (Co-Extra)
- Haemoglobin adducts of glycidol as marker of exposure of glycidol fatty acid esters:Development of methods and human trial
- Hemoglobin adducts as biomarkers of internal exposure to genotoxic compounds
- Histopathological examination of liver and lung as well as blood analysis of rats which wereorally treated with selected pyrrolizidine alkaloids over 28 days
- Hydrolysis of flavouring substances
- Identification and assessment of potential risks in the course of production or manufacturing processes for food that can lead to a potential accumulation of residues of contaminants or undesirable substances in co- or by-products
- Identification of molecular markers of effect of toxicologically relevant compounds to support human biomonitoring
- Identification of new molecular proteomic biomarker for the risk assessment of food related compounds; heat-tox products as important example (furan fatty acids and 3-MCPD)
- Identification of proteins from spots of gel electrophoresis using mass spectrometry
- Identification of proteomic biomarkers in human after exposure to furan fatty acids
- Identification of the structure-dependent toxicity of hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids
- Impact of the carbon chain length of perfluor carbonic acids toxicity and molecular charac-terisation of the hepatotoxic effects of PFOA on the proteomic level
- Influence of endocrine disruptors using the example of soy isoflavones on the transformationof multipotent progenitor cells of the human mammary epithelium
- Influence of folic acid on CXCR4-dependent migration of malignant colon carcinoma cells
- Influence of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) to the viability and function of pancreatic beta cells
- Influence of simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) on the intestinal toxicity of silver nanoparticles
- Interaction between metabolism and transport of toxicological relevant compounds in the gastrointestinal barrier
- Interaction between metabolism and transport of toxicological-relevant substances in the gastrointestinal barrier
- Interaction between metabolism and transport of toxicologically relevant compounds in the gastrointestinal barrier
- Interaction of foreign compounds, their metabolism, dietary fat and inflammatory processes in the liver
- Interactions of silver-nanoparticles with cellular membrane proteins – influence of the stabilizers to form a protein corona and particle-toxicity
- Investigation of mixture effects of pesticides in vitro
- Investigation of the consumer exposure with residues of perfluorinated tensides (PFT) occurring in fresh-water fish
- Investigation of the origin of nortestosterone in different animals
- Investigation of the residue behavior of different antibiotics in aqua-cultured shrimps
- Investigation of uptake, accumulation and distribution of malachite green in aquacultured fish
- Investigations in vitro on structure-activity-relationship with respect to a teratogenic potential of flavouring substances
- Investigations on the use of phytogenic feed additives in animal nutrition
- Joint project: Extraction and characterization of oligogalacturonic acids as well as research on the inhibition of attachment of pathogenic germs and cytotoxins to intestinal cells by means of in vitro test systems
- Junior Research Group Nanotoxicology: Oral uptake and action of organic nanoparticles in the intestine and liver
- Levels of dioxin and dioxin-like PCBs in cod liver and the corresponding cod muscle meat from different fishing areas of the Baltic Sea and North Atlantic
- Marine Biotoxins: Analysis of the toxic effects of okadaic acid metabolites. Follow-up of Development of an in-vitro screening test of marine toxins based on embryonic stem cells
- Masked mycotoxins: Exposition of the German consumer by Zearalenone-glycosides in food
- Maximum levels of contaminants in commercial fod intended for infants and young children
- Mechanistic studies concerning the influence of okadaic acid on the intestinal barrier, the lipidperoxidation and the phosphoproteome
- Mercapturic acids as biomarkers of internal exposure to alkenylbenzenes, e.g., methyleugenol
- Metabolic activation and inactivation of food carcinogens 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furfuryl alcohol in humans, mice and rats
- Metabolic effects of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: novel testing methods and adverse outcome pathways
- MIRABEL - Integrated framework for risk and cost/benefit analysis of food allergens
- Mode of Action of 3-chloro-1,2-propanediol (3-MCPD) and of 2-chloro-1,3-propanediol (2-MCPD)
- Modelling of the toxome of cultivated human hepatocytes
- Molecular characterization of the interaction between perfluoroctanoic acid (PFOA) and the hepatocyte nuclear factor 4alpha (HNF4alpha)
- Molecular characterization of toxicological properties of the marine biotoxin okadaic acid in in vitro models for the human intestinal barrier and liver
- Molecular effects of flavonoid quercetin on human primary hepatocytes compared to those in mouse liver
- Molecular mechanisms of furan-mediated liver toxicity
- Molecular mechanisms of the toxicity of perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA)
- Molecular mechanisms of the toxicity of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
- Molecular mode of action of a long-term exposure to hepatotoxisch pyrrolizidine alkaloids
- Molecular Toxicity of conjugated linoleic acid isomers and branched chain fatty acids; The role of the nuclear receptor PPAR in colon carcinogenesis
- Molecularkinetic characterization of the transport and the distribution of the pro-carcinogene Benzo[a]pyrene in vitro and in vivo ? new kinetic data for risk assessment
- New approaches to the study of food security on the basis of cell culture systems: development of a cell culture model to evaluate the influence of dietary factors on gene expression in colon cells by the example of fatty acids
- Nutrition and bone health in vegans and omnivores
- Oral 28-day toxicity test in rats using the benchmark dose approach (adapted from OECD TG 407)
- Oral uptake and transcriptional effects of microplastic particles
- Phthalates and their metabolites as endocrine disruptors: Effects of various urine metabolites on the activity of estrogen receptors ERalpha and ERbeta
- Practicability of the certification system concerning the prohibition of the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in organic farming
- Pre- and postnatal exposure of mothers and children with perfluorinated substances
- Preparation of Reference Material for the Performance of Proficiency Tests to achieve the Purpose of the Detection of Marine Biotoxins
- Project on the investigation of raw mass/material fluxes of animal fats as well as fat products which (could) be used in animal feeding: Origin, extraction and applications of animal fats with specific considerations of the hygienic aspects for foodstuff
- Proteomic analysis into molecular toxicological effects of nano particles in human intestinal Caco-2 cells
- Proteomic analysis of effects induced by 3-MCPD and 3-MCPD fatty acid esters in rat liver and kidney
- Proteomic investigations into 2-MCPD and 2-MCPD-distearate-induced effects after 28-days subacute oral treatment in rats
- Proteomic investigations into silver nanoparticle-induced effects after 28-days subacute oral treatment in rats
- Proteomic investigations of carcinogenic effects in primary rat hepatocytes: prevalidation of an in vitro hepatic model for detection of non-genotoxic carcinogens
- Reporter gene assays in permanent cell lines as screening tools for the detection of food contaminants
- Simultaneous determination of hemoglobin adducts of heat-induced contaminants in food with a modified Edman degradation
- Species-dependent formation of okadaic acid metabolites in the liver and identification of involved xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes
- Species-specific detection of meat and bone meal in feed by affinity peptides identified by phage display
- Structure-activity relationship of hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids
- Studies on the correlation of acrylamide intake with valid biomarkers of exposure in humans as part of a duplicate study
- Studies on the metabolism of azo dyes in clothing textiles and cosmetics: Evidence of azo cleavage by skin bacteria and characterization of metabolites
- Study of mutagenic breakdown products of 1-methoxyindole-3-methyl-glucosinolate on induction of preneoplasias and neoplasia-associated changes in gene expression in a mouse model
- Study of the cell death mechanism and cell-cell contacts in Caco-2 cells due to silver silver nanoparticles incubation
- Subacute toxicity study with AgPURE silver nanoparticles and silver nitrate in the ratand subsequent proteomic analysis
- The influence of different acrylamide concentrations on the transcription of selected genes in cell cultures analyzed by microarrays. Analysis of the biofunctionality of acrylamide
- The influence of different kinds of Barrique wine production on the content of polycyclic hydrocarbons in wine
- Toxicological in vitro characterization of alternaria toxins
- TRACE: Delivering Integrated Traceability Systems that will enhance Consumer Confidence in the Authenticity of Food
- Transfer of iodine from teat disinfectants on teat skin and teat canal
- Transfer of the LivSys in vitro system for hepatotoxicity into application
- Uptake and cellular localization of nano particles in enterocytes
- Uptake and effect of nano- and microplastics in the intestine and liver
- Uptake and toxicity of nanoparticles regarding coating and ion release in Caco-2-coculture
- Use of hepatic in vitro systems for detection of liver carcinogens by application of toxicogenomics
- Using NMR-spectroscopy for wine authenticity tests
- Vegan diet and bone health
Involved in research projects
- Activation of azo dyes to genotoxic metabolites by skin bacteria and studies for skin penetration
- Analysis of the cytotoxic potential of hemolymph constituents of Harmonia axyridis on human cells
- Characterization of the barrier function of human reconstructed skin models
- Development of methods for cleavage of azo dyes by human skin bacteria in vitro
- European Test and Risk Assessment Strategies for Mixtures
- Genetic polymorphisms and variability of cytochrom P450 enzymes
- Identification of protein-biomarkers in human- and mouse-plasma after exposure to Dioxin.
Contact
BfR - Department 5: Food Safety
(BfR - LMS)
Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10
10589 Berlin
Berlin
Germany
Phone: +49-(0)30-18412-3747
Fax: +49-(0)30-18412-3685
Email: 5(@)bfr.bund.de