Bernhard Url appointed Director of Risk Assessment and Scientific Assistance

Dr. Bernhard Url has been appointed Director of Risk Assessment and Scientific Assistance (RASA) at EFSA. He will oversee the RASA Directorate which carries out risk assessments and monitoring on general health and safety priorities in areas such as biological hazards, chemical contaminants, animal health and welfare and plant health.

A qualified veterinarian by training, Dr. Url brings high-level management experience from public and private food-safety organisations to the role, most recently as Managing Director for the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES). Until March 2012, he also served as a member of EFSA’s Management Board.

Dr. Url will take up his post on 1 June 2012. The current Acting Director of RASA, Dr. Claudia Heppner, will become Head of the newly-created Food Ingredients and Packaging Unit (FIP).