AGES - Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety Ltd.

The Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) is a company of the Republic of Austria, owned by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism. AGES was founded on 1st June, 2002.

AGES supports the management of the federal ministries and the two federal agencies subordinated to it in questions relating to public health, animal health, food safety, medical and drug safety, food security and consumer protection along the food chain by providing professional and independent scientific expertise (as stated in Article 8 of the Austrian Health and Food Safety Act).

Business of AGES

Activities

Core tasks include the protection of human, animal and plant health, food safety and food quality, as well as the protection of consumers against fraud.

Mission

We work in accordance with the principles of risk analysis to ensure the highest possible health, food safety and consumer protection levels possible within our sphere of influence: we evaluate risks, conduct risk communication and give risk management recommendations.

Healthy life for humans, animals and plants!

Vision

AGES stands for safe, high-quality food and pharmaceuticals, as well as for healthy nutrition. We ensure health for humans, animals and plants from the farm to the fork. As one of Europe’s leading expert organisations, AGES strives to minimise risks within its sphere of influence and ensure food safety and security.

Healthy life for humans, animals and plants!

Federal Offices

AGES is not itself an authority and cannot issue official assessments. It supports two federal bodies, active in the agricultural and drug safety sectors respectively, by providing the resources necessary for them to carry out their mandate:

the Federal Office for Food Safety (BAES), and
the Federal Office for Safety in Healthcare (BASG).

The two regulated federal bodies are each legally assigned the statutory duties of an authority by Section 6 (1) and Section 6a (1) of the Austrian Health and Food Safety Act (Gesundheits- und Ernährungssicherheitsgesetz, GESG).

Federal Office for Food Safety

The Austrian Federal Office for Food Safety (BAES) is responsible for the statutory tasks relating to control and licensing of e.g. plant reproductive material, animal feed, fertilisers, and plant protection products. The authority is subordinate to the Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism. BAES carries out registration, licensing and production monitoring, along with e.g. export and import controls for plants, crops and seeds. In addition, BAES monitors correct consumer information on fishery and aquaculture products.

In relation to the statutory tasks of the Federal Office for Food Safety, AGES is responsible for the following tasks:

Analysis, testing and risk assessment of agricultural resources, for the enforcement of the Seeds Act, Planting Material Act, Plant Variety Protection Act, Plant Protection Products Act, Plant Protection Act, Feedstuffs Act, Fertiliser Act
Applied research, particularly into soil protection, plant health and sustainable agricultural production
Maintaining phytogenetic resources in gene banks

Federal Office for Safety in Healthcare

The Austrian Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) is responsible for the statutory tasks relating to control and licensing of pharmaceutical and medicinal products. The authority is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection.

In relation to the statutory tasks of the Austrian Federal Office for Safety in Health Care, AGES is responsible the following tasks:

Analytical investigations of pharmaceuticals on the market and suspect samples
Participation in scientific regulatory processes at the European level
Assessment of licensing documentation, for licensing safe and effective pharmaceutical products
Inspection of manufacturing facilities, laboratories, clinical trials and vigilance Systems
Market monitoring activities for pharmaceuticals and medical products
Evaluation of pharmaceutical licensing documents

Annual Reports

The expert staff working at AGES are able to identify and assess hazards so that the risks to humans, animals and plants, soil and water can be reduced and minimised in the best possible way. The uppermost aim is to protect man and the environment as well as to ensure that foodstuff, animal fodder and medicines are all safe. To this end, AGES staff from the fields of human and veterinary medicine, analytics and statistics, agriculture, pharmacology and risk assessments are actively working in six different locations across the whole of Austria.

Their work is based on well-founded scientific evidence, monitoring data collected across the EU and state of the art knowledge and technology.

These basic elements all combine to help develop solutions that are available for use in a political, governmental and economic context, as well as by consumers.

The 2018 Annual Report provides an overview of the many and varied activities and Services by AGES and a retrospective on the issues AGES was mainly involved in during 2018.

_{Only available in German.}