Gruppenbild der Gemeinsamen Expertenkommission Source: © BVL

In January 2013, the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) and the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) established a Joint Commission of Experts on the Classification of Substances. The background to the creation of the commission is that e.g. substances that were previously used primarily or exclusively in medicinal products are increasingly being marketed as foods or food ingredients. However, authorities often are concerned if these products are safe and can be marketed as food.

The Joint Commission of Experts is a recognized independent body with broad-based specialized expertise. Its aim is to develop criteria catalogs, decision trees, and opinions on the classification of substances, taking into account scientific findings and legal requirements. Topics include the question if a substance has to be classifiedas a drug, the evaluation of possible health hazards of the substance, and whether approval under food law is required, which is mandatory for e.g. novel foods or novel food ingredients. The expert opinions conclude with a recommendation as to whether or not a substance is marketable as a food. Thus, the Joint Commission of Experts actively contributes to the risk assessment of so-called borderline products and to the health protection of the population.

With the recommendations of the Joint Commission of Experts, opinions are made available to the competent federal and state authorities to support them in executing their statutory duties.

Overview of members - Eleven members with voting rights, two without voting rights. - © BVL

The Joint Commission of Experts is composed of six experts who are not representing authorities, four experts from the official drug and food monitoring authorities and one representative each from the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), the BVL and the BfArM, as well as the respective deputies. To underline the independence of the Joint Commission of Experts, the two members from BVL and BfArM are not entitled to vote.

Together, the members of the Joint Commission of Experts contribute their expertise from the fields of toxicology, pharmacology, medicine/nutritional medicine, food and drug analysis, pharmaceutical biology, nutritional science, and food and drug law. This allows the Joint Commission to address topics -independently from authorities in an interdisciplinary manner and on a broad professional basis.

The non-agency experts are appointed for three years and selected by an appointment committee following a public application process.

More about the members can be found here: "Members of the Commission”

The office of the Joint Commission of Experts is managed jointly and equally by BVL and BfArM. It provides technical and organizational support to the reporting experts, who are appointed from among the members of the expert commission and prepare the statements.

The current topics of the meetings can be found in the published agenda.

Minutes of the meetings can also be found here.

Topics for discussion by the Joint Commission of Experts can be submitted by the supreme state authorities as well as the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG), the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), the BVL, the BfArM and the BfR.

Further information on the organisation and procedure can be found in the Rules of Procedure and the Establishment decree.