The Front Office Food and Product Safety operated by RIVM and RIKILT answers ad-hoc questions about the safety of food and consumer products posed by the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).
Subjects addressed include the chemical and microbiological safety of food and feed, and genetically modified organisms. In addition, questions regarding chemical substances in consumer products such as toys and cosmetics are answered. The Front Office Food and Product Safety also conducts chemical analysis of food supplements.
Approximately 30 ad hoc questions are asked annually by the NVWA Office for Risk Assessment and Research (NVWA-BuRO). The topics monitored by the NVWA include the safety of food and consumer products and animal health. NVWA-BuRO provides advice on these topics to the Ministers of Health, Welfare and Sport and of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. For scientific substantiation of advice and enforcement, the NVWA may ask the Front Office for Food and Product Safety to conduct a (rapid) risk assessment.