AGES Food Safety
Our three institutes in Innsbruck, Linz and Vienna analyse and assess food, consumer goods, cosmetics and toys. We are the contact point for the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed(RASFF). The newly founded Competence Centre Food Chain provides target group-specific advice and coordination in the areas of food law, internet monitoring and the protection of origin and integrity in the food chain.
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Our goal is to ensure that food, cosmetics, consumer goods and toys are safe and that what's inside is what's on the outside of the package.
Our tasks
- Examination and assessment of foodstuffs, commodities, cosmetics and toys
- Management of reference laboratories
- Support of the food authorities
- Handling of priority actions
- Administrative handling of the Europe-wide alert systems RASFF (European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed), RAPEX (European Rapid Alert System for Consumer Protection) and Liaison Office for Food and Feed
- Participation in national and international committees
- Research
- Method development
- Control of internet trade
- Coordination of the topics authenticity and origin, authenticity and protection against deception
- Coordination of the fight against food fraud
Institute for Food Safety Innsbruck
Our focus
- Analysis and assessment of
- Vegetable food in general
- Coffee
- Tea and tea-like products
- spices, fixed products, food mustard
- Bathing water
- Performance of microbiological tests, advice on microbiological and hygiene issues, hygiene controls
- Analysis of pesticide residues, nitrate, illicit dyes (e.g. azo dyes), plant constituents (e.g. caffeine)
National reference laboratories
Opening hours
MO - DO 07:30 - 15:30 h FR 07:30 - 12:00 h
Institute for Food Safety Linz
Our specialities
- Analysis and assessment of
- paediatric foods
- Honey, sugar, types of sugar, confectionery, cocoa, cocoa products
- Fats, oils and their products
- Pasta, soups, table salt
- Ready meals, delicatessen products
- Food additives
- Toys and baby products
- Analysis of nutrients, vitamins and other food ingredients, mycotoxins, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
- Toy analysis
- Immission measurements with plants (biomonitoring)
National reference laboratory
Contact point Salzburg
- National contact point "Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed" (RASFF)
- National support centre "Rapid Alert System for Non Food Consumer Products" (RAPEX)
- Administrative processing "Organic Farming Information System" (OFIS)
- Administrative handling of the "Trade Control and Expert System" (TRACES)
- National contact point of the "International Food Safety Authorities Network" (INFOSAN) of the WHO (World Health Organisation)
- Liaison office according to Regulation (EU) 882/2004
- National contact point "Better Training for Safer Food" (BTSF)
- Bathing water monitoring
Institute for Food Safety Vienna
Our focus
- Analysis and assessment of
- Animal food
- Cosmetics
- Consumer goods
- Beverages
- Food supplements
- Novel foods
- Spirits
- Feed (analytics only)
- Analysis of ingredients and additives, veterinary drugs, hormones, contaminants, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), allergens
- Varieties and species identification
- Detection of food irradiation
National Reference Laboratories
Competence Centre Food Chain
Our specialisations
- Food law: Advice and coordination centre for food law issues and protection against misrepresentation, contact: lebensmittelrecht@ages.at
- Sustainable food systems: Operation of the service centre for sustainable food and nutrition systems to provide administrative and technical support to the BMK, BMLUK and BMASGPK, contact: nachhaltigkeit@ages.at
- Origin and authenticity: Technical coordination of the topics of origin, authenticity and adulteration,
Contact: herkunft@ages.at - AGES internet unit: Support for authorities in the area of official internet monitoring and control,
Contact: internetkontrolle@ages.at - Fraudulent practices: Central office for combating AGRI-Food Fraud along the entire food chain,
Contact: betrug@ages.at - Research projects along the food chain: monitoring and project-related processing of new risk topics
Contact us
Leitung
Mag. Dr. Friedrich Sövegjarto
- office.lms@ages.at
- +43 50 555 35001
-
Spargelfeldstraße 191
1220 Wien
Leitung
Dr. Hermann Unterluggauer
- lebensmittel.innsbruck@ages.at
- +43 50 555 71111
-
Technikerstrasse 70
6020 Innsbruck
Leitung
Dr. Daniela Schachner
- lebensmittel.linz@ages.at
- +43 50 555 41700
-
Wieningerstraße 8
4020 Linz
Leitung
Mag. Laura-Maria Müller
- laura-maria.mueller@ages.at
- +43 50 555 44215
-
Innsbrucker Bundesstraße 47
5020 Salzburg
Leitung
Dr. Florian Tschandl
- lebensmittel.wien@ages.at
- +43 50 555 25826
-
Spargelfeldstraße 191
1220 Wien
Last updated: 19.01.2026
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