Framework Partnership Agreement
As leading institutes in the area of food and feed safety risk the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) are facing similar challenges. In order to benefit from the work, research and experience, whilst avoiding the duplication of work of both institutes, it is aimed with this framework partnership agreement to enhance the communication and exchange on research projects, priorities and training opportunities.
The BfR built up specific excellence in the development of risk assessment tools to analyse and interpret global food and feed supply chains to support risk managers, while EFSA is coordinating expertise and collecting evidence on a European level.
This project describes four working areas, which allow a close collaboration between the institutions to ensure that the challenges are met in a manner that is efficient and effective for risk managers to protect European consumers.
Area 1: Map and analyse global food and feed supply chains
Area 2: Establishment of a European food and feed safety model repository
Area 3: Implementing uncertainty analysis in food and feed safety assessment
Area 4: Strengthen regional networks for crisis preparedness and communication in times of crisis
These working areas were identified during several preparatory meetings as concordant areas of expertise and priorities in both institutes in the sense that both institutes
- have sound experience and expertise in these areas;
- can underpin the collaboration with former or ongoing projects or mandates;
- will benefit from coordination and collaboration of their tasks.
It is intended to use the full range of processes for collaboration, including grants, events, training, and exchange of staff.
In addition it is envisaged to disseminate and communicate the project results in a comprehensive and consistent way with third parties, such as international organisations, industry, national or international funding programs, and scientific networks. For this a specific work package (Area 0) on reporting and communication will be defined.