“From expert to expert” - this is the motto of the 13th round of the BfR Summer Academy. From 30 June to 11 July 2025, the 23 participants of the courses in Berlin will be focusing on the topics of food safety and risk assessment: How is the legal and institutional background of food safety regulated in Germany and Europe? What characterises a well-founded risk assessment? And what needs to be considered when communicating health risks? “The 13th BfR Summer Academy will focus on mutual exchange and international networking. After all, food safety is a global challenge today. It doesn’t stop at borders. This makes it all the more important to jointly promote consumer health protection and thus protect the population from food-related diseases in the best possible way,” says Professor Andreas Hensel, President of the BfR.
This year's BfR Summer Academy is once again an international event: the 23 participants come from 17 different countries, including Azerbaijan, Brazil, Ecuador, Germany, Norway, Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine and Vietnam. The prerequisite to participate is to work in a public institution in the domain of food and feed safety and to have already dealt with the risk assessment of food.
True to the motto “From expert to expert”, the programme is led by BfR scientists and external experts with many years of experience in the assessment and communication of chemical or microbial risks.
At the beginning, participants are given an insight into the basics of risk assessment and the German and European legal framework for food safety. The aim is to be able to assess the extent and significance of a health risk and communicate it in a clear way. The programme also includes workshops on exposure assessment, microbiological and chemical risks and risk communication.
About the BfR Summer Academy
The first BfR Summer Academy took place in 2012. Over the past 13 years, more than 1,000 participants from over 80 different countries have taken part in this training programme. The courses are aimed at employees of public organisations working in the domain of food and feed safety who already have experience in analysing risks. With the Summer Academy, the BfR is contributing to the international harmonisation of standards in the domain of food safety. The high European standards, regulations and knowledge regarding the quality, safety and hygiene of food can serve as a pioneering example.
Further information on the BfR website about the13th BfR Summer Academy
- 13th BfR Summer AcademyGo to page
- Event flyerExternal Link:Go to document
About the BfR
The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is a scientifically independent institution within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Home Affairs (BMLEH). The BfR advises the Federal Government and the States (‘Laender’) on questions of food, chemicals and product safety. The BfR conducts independent research on topics that are closely linked to its assessment tasks.