Training Workshop on the Cyprus Food Risk Assessment Model, "ImproRisk", 19–20 October 2023

The training workshop on the Cyprus Risk Assessment Model "ImproRisk", organized by the State General Laboratory (SGL) of the Republic of Cyprus (Ministry of Health) in the framework of its cooperation with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), took place for the 2nd consecutive year in Larnaca from 19th to 20th October 2023.

Twenty-two experts participated from the Food Safety Authorities / Risk Assessment Institutes of the Member States (MS) of the European Union (EU), as well as from the EU pre-accession countries, who were trained in the application/ use of this Model by Officers of the State General Laboratory of the Republic of Cyprus.

The Director of SGL, Dr. Rebecca Kokkinofta, welcoming with great pleasure the participants, underlined the importance of food safety both at national, EU and international level, especially nowadays more than ever due to the globalization of trade, the climate crisis, etc., governments and competent Authorities are called upon to take greater action to ensure food safety and consumer protection. She also said that reliable, open-access dietary risk assessment tools are becoming even more imperative to support risk managers in, among others, decision-making, new policy making, legislation review, and food risk awareness. Finally, she stressed the successful cooperation between the SGL and EFSA in this field.

The objective of the workshop was to provide practical training in the application of this Model through a combination of lectures and case studies using computational examples. The participants, through their physical presence in the training workshop, had the opportunity to use the ImproRisk Model in practice and be informed about both the results and the possibilities it provides to users. It is also important that, after the completion of the training workshop, participants will continue to have access to the Model in order to use it for dietary risk assessment in their countries, by uploading to it their own available national analytical and food consumption data.

The ImproRisk is an open online access model, developed by the SGL of the Republic of Cyprus for conducting chronic dietary exposure assessment to chemical substances and has been approved by EFSA as it is considered a reliable, accurate and easily accessible tool for conducting precise dietary exposure assessments, with the ultimate goal of protecting European consumers. Find More........