Position statement of the Central Biosafety Commission (ZKBS) on the risk assessment of laboratory strains of the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus as donor or recipient organisms in genetic engineering operations according to § 5 paragraph 1 of the Genetic Engineering Safety Regulations

Position statement of the Central Biosafety Commission (ZKBS)on the risk assessment of laboratory strains of the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus
as donor or recipient organisms in genetic engineering operations according to § 5 paragraph 1 of the German Genetic Engineering Safety Regulations

The Central Biosafety Commission (ZKBS) is an expert scientific committee made up of 20 members and 20 deputy members, who represent different specialist areas or spheres of corporate interest. Its offices are based at the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL). Its members and deputy members are appointed by the Federal Ministry for Food, agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) for three years. The ZKBS evaluates GMOs for possible risk potential, assigns genetic engineering operations to a biosafety level and recommends suitable safety measures. The german federal states obtain ZKBS position statements for genetic engineering operations in safety categories 3 and 4 and for operations in a lower safety category, whose classification is not clear. The ZKBS also evaluates approval applications for releases and for the placing of GMOs on the market and also issues a report to the BVL. An activity report is published annually.