The Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) (www.bvl.bund.de) fulfills many tasks in the area of food safety. It is responsible for the authorisation of plant protection products, veterinary drugs and genetically modified (GM) organisms in Germany. In addition, it is the German National GMO Reference Laboratory for GM food and feed, working in close collaboration with the European Network of GMO Laboratories (ENGL). Since the foundation in 2002, the aim of the BVL has been to improve the coordination between the Federal Government and the Federal States, to improve risk communication and to manage risks before they turn into crises.

Wageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR), Wageningen UR (www.wur.eu/food-safety-research) is an independent research institute in the area of the safety and wholesomeness of food. WFSR performs advanced research with relation to the compounds in food and feed products. WFSR supports national and international governments with laboratory activities that relate to a safe food and feed supply. WFSR is the Dutch National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for GMO detection methods in both food and feed, working in close collaboration with European Network of GMO Laboratories (ENGL). WFSR is accredited to perform 103 methods for GMO detection, identification and quantification and this number is increasing continuously. In addition, WFSR develops multi-methods on the basis of advanced PCR and sequence analysis strategies.

The Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lazio and Tuscany (IZSLT) (www.izslt.it)