International consultancy

The National Food Institute is a significant provider of many international public sector consulting services. The Institute provides a major contribution to the work in the European Food Authority, EFSA, and advisory services to the OECD, the World Health Organisation, WHO, and the EMA. The Institute also collaborates with research institutions in other countries on risk assessment within food and environment.

International institutions increasingly submit calls for tender for research-based public sector consultancy internationally. Public sector services consulting services are often of a transnational nature; i.e. reference values for chemical compounds in food are a joint European concern.

The National Food Institute's international public sector consultancy comprises both research-based risk assessment and consulting, surveillance and contingency tasks. 

Internationally, the National Food Institute is also a reference laboratory for the EU and the WHO in a number of essential areas: 

• EU reference laboratory for pesticides in grain and feed
• EU reference laboratory for antimicrobial resistance
• EU reference laboratory for processing contaminants
• EU reference laboratory for metals and nitrogenous compounds
• FAO reference centre for antimicrobial resistance
• WHO collaboration centre for antimicrobial resistance in foodborne pathogens
• WHO collaboration partner for surveillance of food contamination (GEMS Food)

Read about the National Food Institute's participation in international expert groups and panels.

Read more about the EU reference laboratories.