Picture with different foods

Senate Commission on Food Safety (SKLM)

The Senate Commission on Food Safety (SKLM) of the German Research Foundation (DFG) provides scientific advice to several political and research institutions on topics related to food safety.

Food safety and consumer health protection are main priorities for society. Due to the constant development of new processes and products in the food sector and the steady increase in scientific knowledge in this area, scientific advice on food safety aspects is permanently required.

The Senate Commission on Food Safety (SLKM) provides scientific advice on food safety issues to the Senate of the DFG, federal/state governments, parliaments and authorities. As part of these activities, the SKLM also organizes symposia and expert discussions, the results of which are published in the form of resolutions, statements and announcements on both the DFG's website and in internationally recognized scientific journals.

The risk assessment of foodstuffs, including novel and functional foods, includes the assessment of ingredients and additives as well as novel technological processes. Thus, the SKLM assists on aspects of food safety as well as on questions of technological necessity and nutritional and physiological benefits.

The topics are assessed in working groups, which prepare drafts that are then revised in the Commission's plenary sessions and adopted in the form of resolutions/recommendations. The experts from the Senate Commission are members of a number of national institutions and also participate in various panels of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), ensuring constant communication on current topics and regulations, and allowing a direct exchange of information and expertise, both at national and European level.

Further information can be found here: DFG-SKLM.

Chairman

Prof. Dr. Jan G. Hengstler

Scientific Director and Head of the "Toxicology" research department
Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo)
Phone: +49 (231) 1084-348/-349
Email: hengstler@ifado.de

Scientific Office

  • Dr. Sabine Guth
  • Dr. Angelika Roth
  • Dr. María A. Villar Fernández

Contact

Senate Commission on Food Safety
Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo)
Department of Toxicology

Ardeystraße 67
44139 Dortmund
Phone: +49 (231) 1084-256
Email: sklm@ifado.de

Publications
  1. Acetaldehyde as a Flavoring Substance: Aspects of Risk Assessment. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2023 Oct 15:e2200661. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.202200661.
  2. Basic concepts of mixture toxicity and relevance for risk evaluation and regulation. Arch Toxicol. 2023 Nov;97(11):3005-3017. doi: 10.1007/s00204-023-03565-6.
  3. Salivary nitrate/nitrite and acetaldehyde in humans: potential combination effects in the upper gastrointestinal tract and possible consequences for the in vivo formation of N-nitroso compounds—a hypothesis. Arch Toxicol. 2022 Jun;96(6):1905-1914. doi: 10.1007/s00204-022-03296-0
  4. Stellungnahme zu Acetaldehyd als Aromastoff: Aspekte der Risikobewertung. Journal of Consumer Protection and Food Safety; 2022, July; 17, 285-293
  5. Contribution to the ongoing discussion on fluoride toxicity. Arch Toxicol. 2021 Jul;95(7):2571-2587. doi: 10.1007/s00204-021-03072-6.
  6. Aspects of high hydrostatic pressure food processing: Perspectives on technology and food safety. Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf. 2021 Jul;20(4):3225-3266. doi: 10.1111/1541-4337.12763.
  7. Mode of action based risk assessment of genotoxic carcinogens. Arch Toxicol. 2020 Jun;94(6):1787-1877. doi: 10.1007/s00204-020-02733-2.
  8. Comparison of points of departure between subchronic and chronic toxicity studies on food additives, food contaminants and natural food constituents. Food Chem Toxicol. 2020 Dec;146:111784. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2020.111784.
  9. Toxicity of fluoride: critical evaluation of evidence for human developmental neurotoxicity in epidemiological studies, animal experiments and in vitro analyses. Arch Toxicol. 2020 May;94(5):1375-1415. doi: 10.1007/s00204-020-02725-2

More publications DFG-SKLM