The main goal of the BTSF Training Programme/Course on Chemical Risk Assessment is to disseminate best practices for the implementation of principles and methods of food chain risk assessment, improving knowledge of this complex area of work and ensuring consistent and high implementation standards across the European Union.

  • Objective 1: Promoting reduction of discrepancies in procedural aspects of risk assessment
  • Objective 2: Contribute to the harmonisation of risk assessment approaches
  • Objective 3: Contribute to increasing transparency and building trust amongst Member States’ authorities in each other’s risk assessments
  • Objective 4: Disseminate best practices for risk management and communication
  • Objective 5: Promote exchange of experience in order to increase the level of expertise and harmonisation of approaches

The course addresses the following topics:

  • Introduction to chemical risk assessment and its legal framework
  • Hazard Identification and Characterisation
  • Basic concepts in toxicology
  • Basic knowledge of different endpoints in toxicity studies
  • Chemicals in foods
  • Collection of consumption data
  • Collection of chemical occurrence data
  • Exposure estimations
  • Challenge of connecting consumption data with chemical occurrence data
  • Short introduction to Risk Communication

This Training Programme has been designed for the profiles and positions described below. Please verify compliance with the selection criteria before submitting or validating applications.

  • Have worked in functional areas of food chain risk assessment with a minimum of 3 years of professional experience or
  • Have had experience of setting up and implementation of food chain risk assessment in a Competent Authority (covering areas of food/ feed safety, animal health or animal welfare)
Session Start Date End Date City Country
1 16/10/2023 20/10/2023 Valencia Spain
2 27/05/2024 31/05/2024 Warsaw Poland
Chemical risk assessment

The main goal of the BTSF Training Programme/Course on Environmental risk assessment is to disseminate best practices for the implementation of principles and methods of food chain risk assessment, improving knowledge of this complex area of work and ensuring consistent and high implementation standards across the European Union.

  • Objective 1: Promoting reduction of discrepancies in procedural aspects of risk assessment
  • Objective 2: Contribute to the harmonisation of risk assessment approaches
  • Objective 3: Contribute to increasing transparency and building trust amongst Member States’ authorities in each other’s risk assessments
  • Objective 4: Disseminate best practices for risk management and communication
  • Objective 5: Promote exchange of experience in order to increase the level of expertise and harmonisation of approaches

The course addresses the following topics:

- Introduction on environmental risk assessment (ERA) under the various EU legislation. The course will explain the basics of how to conduct ERA. In particular:

  • looking at the different aspects of the environment and environmental compartments;
  • exercises in problem formulation to better identify the aspects of the environment that need to be protected from harm, according to environmental protection goals as set by EU legislation;
  • how to conduct the selection of non-target organisms for risk assessment evaluation studies, and how to gather relevant evidence. It will include the application and use of statistics to the measurable endpoint results with appropriate interpretation of the biological relevance of statistically significant results;
  • environmental exposure assessment. For each of the environmental compartments, scenario models can be selected to generate data and to link environmental exposure assessment to environmental effects;
  • life-stage analysis. The developmental stages of wildlife are linked with their temporal and spatial distribution Life stage analysis becomes most relevant when exposure patterns are known, and one can investigate whether exposure is likely to have a detrimental effect at a specifically sensitive life stage, with subsequent population level effects, using appropriate modelling tools.

- Short introduction to Risk Communication.

This Training Programme has been designed for the profiles and positions described below. Please verify compliance with the selection criteria before submitting or validating applications.

Participants must:

  • Have worked in functional areas of food chain risk assessment with a minimum of 3 years of professional experience or
  • Have had experience of setting up and implementation of food chain risk assessment in a Competent Authority (covering areas of food/ feed safety, animal health or animal welfare).
Session Start Date End Date City Country
1 13/11/2023 17/11/2023 Valencia Spain
2 09/09/2024 13/09/2024 Riga
Latvia
Environmental risk assessment

The overall objectives of the BTSF Training Programme/Course on Evidence collection, management and integration is to disseminate best practices for the implementation of principles and methods of food chain risk assessment, improving knowledge of this complex area of work and ensuring consistent and high implementation standards across the European Union.

  • Objective 1: Promoting reduction of discrepancies in procedural aspects of risk assessment
  • Objective 2: Contribute to the harmonisation of risk assessment approaches
  • Objective 3: Contribute to increasing transparency and building trust amongst Member States’ authorities in each other’s risk assessments
  • Objective 4: Disseminate best practices for risk management and communication
  • Objective 5: Promote exchange of experience in order to increase the level of expertise and harmonisation of approaches

The course addresses the following topics:

  • Introduction to risk assessment and its legal framework
  • Expert knowledge elicitation
  • implementation of expert knowledge elicitation
  • Demonstration of the practice
  • Communication in practice

This Training Programme has been designed for the profiles and positions described below. Please verify compliance with the selection criteria before submitting or validating applications.

  • Have worked in functional areas of food chain risk assessment with a minimum of 3 years of professional experience or
  • Have had experience of setting up and implementation of food chain risk assessment in a Competent Authority (covering areas of food/ feed safety, animal health or animal welfare)
Session Start Date End Date City Country Dead line
1 11/03/2024 15/03/2024 Vienna Austria 09/02/2024
2 03/02/2025 07/02/2025 Rome Italy 31/01/2025
Risk Assessment - Evidence Collection, Management and Integration

The main objective of the BTSF Training Programme/Course on Microbioological risk assessment is:

  • to disseminate best practices for the implementation of principles and methods of food chain risk assessment, improving knowledge of this complex area of work and ensuring consistent and high implementation standards across the European Union.

The extended objectives of this training activity are:

  • To promote exchange of experience in order to increase the level of expertise and harmonisation of approaches.
  • To contribute to increasing transparency and building trust amongst Member States’ authorities in each other’s risk assessments.
  • To contribute to the harmonisation of risk assessment approaches.
  • To disseminate best practices for risk management and communication.
  • To promoting reduction of discrepancies in procedural aspects of risk assessment.

The course addresses the following topics:

  • Food intoxication versus food infection
  • Serious risk perception vs Qualified Presumption of Safety
  • Genome sequencing
  • Pathogen-product pathway
  • The disease triangle (pathogen virulence-host susceptibility-food matrix)
  • Sources of dose-response data (human volunteer feeding studies, epidemiological data, animal studies, in vitro studies)
  • Modelling dose-response relationship (types of models, selection of dose-response model)
  • Microbial processes (such as growth and inactivation of microorganisms) and food handling processes (such as cross-contamination), statistical inference
  • Qualitative and qualitative (deterministic vs. stochastic) models, simple vs. structured models
  • Uncertainty and variability in exposure assessment
  • Sensitivity analysis and “what if” scenariosRisk management aspects specifically related to microbiological risk assessment and other related issues (e.g. antimicrobial resistance, BSE and other TSE prions)
  • Risk communication

This training programme has been designed for the profiles and positions described below. Please verify compliance with the selection criteria before submitting or validating applications.

  • Professional experience in national authorities and public institutions (including so called "Art. 36 of Reg. 178/2002" organisations) involved in food chain risk assessment
  • Experience in the specific field of microbiological risk assessment.
  • Experience in crisis investigation and management
Session Start Date End Date City Country
4 09/10/2023 13/10/2023 Warsaw Poland
5 17/06/2024 21/06/2024 Rome Italy
Microbiological risk assessment

The main goal of the BTSF Training Programme on Pest and plant protection risk assessment is to disseminate best practices for the implementation of principles and methods of food chain risk assessment, improving knowledge of this complex area of work and ensuring consistent and high implementation standards across the European Union. 

  • Objective 1: Promoting reduction of discrepancies in procedural aspects of risk assessment 
  • Objective 2: Contribute to the harmonisation of risk assessment approaches
  • Objective 3: Contribute to increasing transparency and building trust amongst Member States’ authorities in each other’s risk assessments.
  • Objective 4: Disseminate best practices for risk management and communication
  • Objective 5: Promote exchange of experience in order to increase the level of expertise and harmonisation of approaches.

The course addresses the following topics:

  • Introduction to pest and plant protection risk assessment (Legal framework, Preparation of PRA, Data requirements for plant pest risk assessment and uncertainties, Plant pest initiation and categorisation)
  • Risk assessment in practice: initiation phase and pest categorization, risk assessment on the border crossings
  • Risk assessment in practice: entry, establishment and spread
  • Assessment of potential consequences
  • Risk management
  • Risk analysis and reporting
  • Risk communication and surveillance

This Training Programme has been designed for the profiles and positions described below. Please verify compliance with the selection criteria before submitting or validating applications.

Participants must:

  • Have worked in functional areas of food chain risk assessment with a minimum of 3 years of professional experience or
  • Have had experience of setting up and implementation of food chain risk assessment in a Competent Authority (covering areas of food/ feed safety, animal health or animal welfare).
Session Start Date End Date City Country
1 29/04/2024 03/05/2024 Riga Latvia
2 18/11/2024 22/11/2024 Valencia Spain
Pest and plant protection risk assessment

The main objective of the BTSF Training Programme/Course on Risk assessment applied to animal health and welfare is:

  • to disseminate best practices for the implementation of principles and methods of food chain risk assessment, improving knowledge of this complex area of work and ensuring consistent and high implementation standards across the European Union

The extended objectives of this training activity are:

  • To promote exchange of experience in order to increase the level of expertise and harmonisation of approaches.
  • To contribute to increasing transparency and building trust amongst Member States’ authorities in each other’s risk assessments.
  • To contribute to the harmonisation of risk assessment approaches.
  • To disseminate best practices for risk management and communication.
  • To promoting reduction of discrepancies in procedural aspects of risk assessment.

The course addresses the following topics:

  • Structured four steps approach in risk assessment for importing animal diseases and animal welfare: Hazard Identification, Hazard Characterisation, Exposure assessment, Risk characterization
  • Import Risk Assessment (IRA)
  • Risk – Benefit assessment in Animal Welfare
  • Consequences associated with introduction and spread of diseases
  • Qualitative versus Quantitative assessment
  • Scenario tree models
  • Uncertainty and variability
  • Stake holder specific risk communication
  • Case study based learning

This training programme has been designed for the profiles and positions described below. Please verify compliance with the selection criteria before submitting or validating applications.

  • Professional experience in national authorities and public institutions (including so called "Art. 36 of Reg. 178/2002" organisations) involved in food chain risk assessment
  • Experience in the specific field of risk assessment applied to animal health and welfare
  • Experience in crisis investigation and management
Session Start Date End Date City Country
1 07/06/2021 11/06/2021 online --
2 21/02/2022 25/02/2022 online --
3 23/05/2022 27/05/2022 Bologna Italy
4 18/03/2024  22/03/2024  Warsaw  Poland
5 20/01/2025 24/01/2025 Valencia Spain
Risk assessment applied to animal health and welfare

The main objective of the BTSF Training Programme/Course on Risk assessment in biotechnology is:

  • to disseminate best practices for the implementation of principles and methods of food chain risk assessment, improving knowledge of this complex area of work and ensuring consistent and high implementation standards across the European Union.

The extended objectives of this training activity are:

  • To promote exchange of experience in order to increase the level of expertise and harmonisation of approaches.
  • To contribute to increasing transparency and building trust amongst Member States’ authorities in each other’s risk assessments.
  • To contribute to the harmonisation of risk assessment approaches.
  • To disseminate best practices for risk management and communication.
  • To promoting reduction of discrepancies in procedural aspects of risk assessment.

The course addresses the following topics:

  • Structured four steps approach in risk assessment for genetically modified organisms: Hazard Identification, Hazard characterization, Exposure assessment, Risk characterization
  • Principles and methods of hazard identification and characterization when applied to whole food/feed
  • Uncertainty and variability
  • Weight-of-evidence approach
  • Risk mitigation
  • Post-market monitoring
  • Environmental risk assessment (ERA) of GMOs
  • New molecular breeding techniques (RNAi, CRISPR/Cas) and their challenges for risk assessments
  • GM plants, microorganisms, animals (vertebrates) and insects
  • Synthetic biology
  • Omics as a new toolbox in risk assessment
  • Risk communication

This training programme has been designed for the profiles and positions described below. Please verify compliance with the selection criteria before submitting or validating applications.

  • Professional experience in national authorities and public institutions (including so called "Art. 36 of Reg. 178/2002" organisations) involved in food chain risk assessment
  • Experience in the specific field of risk assessment in biotechnologies
  • Experience in crisis investigation and management
Session Start Date End Date City Country
1 07/03/2022 11/03/2022 online --
2 12/09/2022 16/09/2022 Rome Italy
3 22/01/2024 26/01/2024 Rome Italy
4 04/11/2024 08/11/2024 Riga Latvia
Risk assessment in biotechnology

The main objective of the BTSF Training Programme/Course on Risk assessment in nutrition is:

  • to disseminate best practices for the implementation of principles and methods of food chain risk assessment, improving knowledge of this complex area of work and ensuring consistent and high implementation standards across the European Union.

The extended objectives of this training activity are:

  • To promote exchange of experience in order to increase the level of expertise and harmonisation of approaches.
  • To contribute to increasing transparency and building trust amongst Member States’ authorities in each other’s risk assessments.
  • To contribute to the harmonisation of risk assessment approaches.
  • To disseminate best practices for risk management and communication.
  • To promoting reduction of discrepancies in procedural aspects of risk assessment.

The course addresses the following topics:

  • Dietary intake assessment
  • Nutrient intake assessment
  • Macro- and micronutrients
  • Dietary reference values
  • Tolerable upper intake level
  • Risk characterization
  • Reporting
  • Advance methods of intake assessment
  • Novel foods
  • Risk-benefit assessment
  • Risk communication

This training programme has been designed for the profiles and positions described below. Please verify compliance with the selection criteria before submitting or validating applications.

  • Professional experience in national authorities and public institutions (including so called "Art. 36 of Reg. 178/2002" organisations) involved in food chain risk assessment
  • Experience in the specific field of risk assessment in nutrition
  • Experience in crisis investigation and management
Session Start Date End Date City Country
1 01/11/2021 05/11/2021 online --
2 12/06/2022 16/06/2022 Barcelona Spain
3 04/12/2023 08/12/2023 Rome Italy
4 21/10/2024 25/10/2024 Vienna Austria
Risk assessment in nutrition

The overall objective of the BTSF training course on EU Risk analysis approach for non-EU countries is to disseminate the principles and methods of food safety risk analysis, improving knowledge of this complex area of work, improving the knowledge of non-EU Countries on the European control systems and legislation.:

The course addresses the following topics:

  • The concept of risk assessment (as applied in national and in EFSA and other international food safety organizations).
  • The role of international regulatory agencies and international risk assessment guidelines.
  • The three components of risk analysis – risk assessment, risk management and risk communication.
  • Risk assessment approach steps according to the WHO: problem formulation, hazard identification, hazard characterisation, exposure assessment and risk characterisation.
  • How to perform a structured risk assessment.
  • The process of hazard and risk identification.
  • Risk analysis on regulated products and Plant health.
  • Chemical contaminants and chemical risk analysis (hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment and risk characterization in chemical risk assessment, risk management and risk communication).
  • Risk analysis on Zoonosis and Animal Health with a focus on Microbiological Risk Analysis.
  • New Official Controls Regulation (OCR) and Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF).
  • Crisis management.

Participants shall represent staff of competent authorities involved in official control activities and represent staff of agricultural ministries responsible for food safety policy development and export affairs.

It should be clear from their background and professional position that the participation in the training activity is a key element for the improvement of the competencies.

Session Start Date End Date City Country
1 12/06/2023 15/06/2023 Skopje North Macedonia
2 16/06/2023 22/06/2023 Dar es Salaama Tanzania
3 13/11/2023 16/11/2023 Abidjan Ivory Coast
4 11/12/2023 14/12/2023 Rio de Janeiro Brazil
5 22/01/2024 25/01/2024 Panama City Panama
6 04/03/2024 07/03/2024 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
7 13/05/2024 16/05/2023 Tunis Tunisia
8 24/06/2024 27/06/2024 Jackarta Indonesia
EU Risk analysis approach for non-EU countries