The Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) is the national management body for risks along the food chain. In the field of food safety, BVL supports the cooperation between the BMLEH, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) and the Federal States. BVL runs a watching and warning system for crisis prevention. In cases of incidents or crises, it serves as situation centre and supports for example the crisis unit of BMLEH. BVL regularly organises crisis exercises with all relevant players. BVL is the regulatory authority for plant protection products and veterinary medicinal products. Accordingly, it collaborates with risk assessment and risk managing bodies around the globe, and is involved in standard-setting at national and international level. In cooperation with the Federal States, BVL coordinates programmes for control of food and of plant protection products, and monitoring, including monitoring of zoonoses. BVL collects and analyses data of official food and feed control as well as foodborne outbreaks and forwards them to EU. BVL manages the Official Collection of Methods of Analysis according to § 64 LFGB, § 38 TabakerzG, § 28b GenTG. It collects, analyses and reports data on the volume of sales of antimicrobial veterinary medicinal products. BVL is the German national contact point for audits of the European Commission, for animal welfare during transport, for the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) as well as the Administrative Assistance and Cooperation System (AAC) of the European Union, and emergency contact point for the FAO/WHO INFOSAN network of food safety authorities. In this role secures the flow of information between the EU and the Federal States. It serves as the contact point for the EU AGRI-Food Fraud Network. BVL is also the national competent authority in the EU authorisation of food additives, food flavourings and food enzymes. The BVL is also the German competent authority in the EU-wide authorization procedures for food additives, food enzymes and food flavourings as well as for genetically modified food and feed. In context of the latter, it carries out risk assessments. On behalf of the Federal States, BVL hosts the Common Central Units, Control of Food, Feed, Cosmetics, Consumer Goods and Tobacco Products Traded on the Internet’ (G@ZIELT) as well as the Central Unit for Surveillance of Online Trade of Plant Protection Products (ZOPf) and the portal lebensmittelwarnung.de. BVL also supports competent authorities and relevant business associations in export matters and accompanies the registration process of establishments exporting in third countries.

For authorisation of plant protection products, BVL draws on risk assessments by BfR, JKI and UBA. For the authorisation of veterinary medicinal products as well as risk communication regarding veterinary medicines, the expertise and responsibility are allocated at BVL. In both fields, BVL is involved in the establishment of maximum residue limits of active substances. Taking into account the risk assessments by other authorities and the Central Committee on Biological Safety (ZKBS), BVL decides on applications for the experimental scientific cultivation of genetically modified plants. Furthermore, BVL is involved in the EU marketing authorisation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food and feed, feed additives and feedstuffs for particular nutritional purposes (dietetic feed).

The European Union Reference Laboratory (EURL) for residues of veterinary medicines and contaminants in food of animal origin and eight National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2017/625 are attached to the BVL. Their work ensures the application of harmonised procedures as well as the comparability of test results and supports the reference laboratories of other Member States and the official monitoring laboratories in Germany. The BVL performs the national antibiotic resistance monitoring of animal pathogens and hosts the laboratory for formulation chemistry of pesticides.

In addition to food and feed safety, the activities of the BVL extend, amongst other things, to cosmetics, tobacco, and consumer products which come into contact with food or human skin, as well as to certain veterinary affairs outside food safety.