NCPC Researcher Attends 8th BfR Summer Academy in Germany
Eric Jhon Cruz, NCPC researcher and Head of the Pesticide Management Division, actively participated in the 8th International German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) Summer Academy on Risk Assessment and Risk Communication in Food Safety from August 12-23 in Berlin, Germany through a scholarship grant from the BfR.
The BfR is an independent, scientific body under the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture that deals with risk assessment and communication of various substances in food, feed, and consumer products. It was established in 2002 to strengthen consumer health protection. The institute employs 997 staff, 430 of whom are scientists as of 2018. It is also the national focal point of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and a partner of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
The BfR Summer Academy is a training from professionals to professionals that aims to strengthen the knowledge on food safety. In particular, it aims to capacitate the participants in hazard and exposure assessment, gain practical experience in conducting risk assessment and risk communication, and interprets the results of exposure calculation including the assessment of data quality and uncertainty. It was attended by 37 participants from 20 countries. Aside from Cruz, John Gregory Aquino of the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards – Department of Agriculture (BAFS-DA) was also among the attendees from the Philippines.
Lectures, exercises, and workshops were conducted by BfR senior scientists and external experts on topics focusing mainly on contaminants, microbial, and chemical risk assessment. (EJ Cruz, RG dela Cruz/ Photos: BfR)