This document outlines the program for a 4-day online training course on food safety and risk management with a focus on residues and contaminants. The program covers topics such as the legal and institutional background of food safety in Europe; tools for risk-based official food controls; managing pesticide residues; emerging contaminants and their risk management; and laboratory methods and proficiency testing. Speakers are from the German Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety, the European Commission, research institutes, and other food safety authorities. The course aims to provide an introduction to food safety systems and an exchange of experience between participants.

1. 1
International Training for Safer Food
Training course around Food Safety and Risk Management
with a spotlight on residues and contaminants
26–29 February 2024 — respectively 04–07 March 2024 (Online)
PROGRAMME DAY1
Monday
26.02.2024
Monday
04.03.2024
Introduction
Chair Martine Püster, Head of International Affairs Unit, Federal
Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL)
08:00–08:10 16:00–16:10 Welcome to ITS Food 2024! Welcome to BVL!
Friedel Cramer, President of BVL
08:10–08:15 16:10–16:15 Opening remarks
Niklas Schulze Icking, Head of Unit International Organisations of
Food and Agriculture; Codex Alimentarius, Federal Ministry of Food
and Agriculture, BMEL
08:15–08:30 16:20–16:30 Approach and organisation of ITS Food
Chair
08:30–08:40 16:30–16:40 Warm-up:Farm to Forkstrategy
Isabelle Rollier, Unit Farm to Fork, Directorate-General for Health
and Food Safety (DG SANTE), European Commission (EC)
08:40–09:00 16:40–17:00 Basics: legal and institutional background of food safety in
Germany and Europe
Niklas Schulze Icking, Head of Unit International Organisations of
Food and Agriculture; Codex Alimentarius, BMEL

2. 2
Monday
26.02.2024
Monday
04.03.2024
Introduction
Chair Martine Püster, Head of International Affairs Unit, Federal
Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL)
09:00–09:10 17:00–17:10 Keynote video: Tasks of BVL around residues and contaminants
Friedel Cramer, President of BVL
09:10–09:25 17:10–17:25 Break
Tools of risk management in official controls
Chair Andrea Luger, Head of Department Food Safety, BVL
09:25–09:55 17:25–17:55 National Residue Control Plan – a programme for risk based official
controls
Andrea Reschke, Unit Food Hygiene, Inspections and Veterinary
Affairs, BVL
09:55–10:25 17:55–18:25 German Representative Monitoring Programme on undesired
substances
Hannes Harms, Unit Monitoring Strategy and Coordination, BVL
10:25–10:35 18:25–18:35 Q&A session
10:35–10:50 18:35–18:50 Break
10:50–11:20 18:50–19:20 Increased import controls of food of non-animal origin
Doris Gerlach, Border Control Post Frankfurt Airport
11:20–11:50 19:20–19:50 INFOSAN as a risk management tool
Stefan Laacke, Unit Alert and Information Systems, BVL
11:50–12:00 19:50–20:00 Q&A session

3. 3
PROGRAMME DAY 2
Tuesday
27.02.2024
Tuesday
05.03.2024
Managing pesticide residues
Chair Karsten Hohgardt, Head of Unit Health, BVL
08:00–08:15 16:00–16:15 Authorisation procedures for active substance and Plant
protection products in EU and Germany
Gordon Cameron, Unit Efficacy, Head of Section for Fungicides
and Insecticides, BVL
08:15–08:35 16:15–16:35 Legal framework for the setting of MRLs for Pesticides in the EU
Romy Heintze, Unit Health, Herbicides and Maximum Residue
Levels, BVL
08:35–09:00 16:35–17:00 Import tolerances and Codex MRLs
Marina Rusch, Unit Health, Head of Section for Herbicides and
Maximum Residue Levels, BVL
09:00–09:20 17:00–17:20 Q&Asession
09:20–09:35 17:20–17:35 Break
09:35–10:25 17:35–18:25 Exercise on import tolerances
Chair
10:25–10:55 18:25–18:55 Risk assessment of pesticide residues and tools of exposure
estimation
Anke Richter, Unit Residues and Analytical methods, BfR
10:55–11:10 18:55–19:10 Break
11:10–11:40 19:10–19:40 Control programmes on pesticide residues in food
Anne Katrin Pietrzyk, Unit Monitoring Strategy and Coordination,
BVL
11:40–12:00 19:40–20:00 Q&A session

4. 6
4
PROGRAMME DAY 3
Wednesday
28.02.2024
Wednesday
06.03.2024
Emerging contaminants and their risk management
Chair Annette Rexroth, Unit Residues and contaminants in
foodstuffs, food contact materials and articles, BMEL
08:00–08:30 16:00–16:30 EU Legal framework for contaminants and types of contaminants
Frans Verstraete, Department Food Safety, Sustainability and
Innovation, DG SANTE, EC
08:30–09:00 16:30–17:00 Mycotoxins - toxic secondary metabolites of fungi in food,
hazards and avoidance strategies
Markus Schmidt-Heydt, Department of Safety and Quality of Fruit
and Vegetables, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food
(MRI)
09:00–09:15 17:00–17:15 Break
09:15–09:45 17:15–17:45 Ergot alkaloids in cereals and possible consequences for
regulations and recommendations
Dorothea Link, Department of Safety and Quality of Cereals, MRI
09:45–10:00 17:45–18:00 Q&Asession
10:00–10:30 18:00–18:30 Management of industrial contaminants and critical points in
production
Christophe Goldbeck, Head of Team LC-MS and Mineral Oils,
Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Office Münsterland-
Emscher-Lippe, North-Rhine Westphalia
10:30–10:45 18:30–18:45 Break
10:45–11:15 18:45–19:15 Risk management of environmental contaminants in food: for-
ever chemicals PFAS
Birgit Wobst, Division Environment and Health, Federal Ministry
for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and
Consumer Protection (BMUV)
11:15–11:45 19:15–19:45 Histamine in fish – an indicator for fresh fish and its analysis
Daniel Melles, Institute for Fish and Fishery Products, State Office
for Consumer Protection and Food Safety, Lower Saxony
11:45–12:00 19:45–20:00 Q&A session

5. 6
5
PROGRAMME DAY 4
Thursday
29.02.2024
Thursday
07.03.2024
Around the lab
Chair Rudolf Hackenberg, Head of Unit National Reference
Laboratories for Pesticides, Process Contaminants, Metals and
Nitrogen Compounds, BVL
08:00–08:15 16:00–16:15 Introduction incl. EURL/NRL network
Chair
08:15–08:40 16:15–16:40 Method validation and analytical quality control in pesticide
residues analysis
Laura Kutzner, NRL for Pesticide Residues, BVL
08:40–08:50 16:40–16:50 Virtual lab round tour: pesticide residues
Ada Möller and the team of the NRL for Pesticide Residues, BVL
08:50–09:05 16:50–17:05 Q&A session
09:05–09:20 17:05–17:20 Break
09:20–09:45 17:20–17:45 Analysis of mycotoxins and plant toxins in food and feed
Stefan Weigel, NRL for Mycotoxins and Plant Toxins in Feed and
Food, BfR
09:45–10:00 17:45–18:00 Virtual lab round tour: agricultural contaminants
Mareen Smuda and Alicia Eggen, Department of plant-based
foods, Area of mycotoxins and plant toxins, State Office for
Consumer Protection, Saxony-Anhalt
10:00–10:15 18:00–18:15 Q&A session
10:15–10:30 18:15–18:30 Break
10:30–10:55 18:30–18:55 Proficiency tests as a tool of risk management – an example from
the field of processing contaminants
Martin Kaminski, NRL Process Contaminants, BVL
10:55–11:05 18:55–19:05 Virtual lab round tour: production and characterisation of
proficiency test materials
Martin Kaminski and the team of the NRL for Process
Contaminants, BVL
11:05–11:20 19:05–19:20 Q&A session

6. 6
6
Thursday
29.02.2024
Thursday
07.03.2024
Conclusion
Chair Martine Püster, Head of International Affairs Unit, Federal
Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL)
11:20–11:50 19:20–19:50 Discussion and exchange of experience
Chair
11:50–12:00 19:50–20:00 Wrap–up and closing remarks
Friedel Cramer, President of BVL