| Abbreviation | SCHER |
|---|---|
| Type | INGO |
Region served | Europa |
Official language | English, French |
Parent organization | Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection |
| Website | SCHER Official website |
The Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER) is one of the independent scientific committees managed by the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection of the European Commission, which provide scientific advice to the Commission on issues related to consumer products.
The SCHER provide the Commission with the scientific advice on questions relating to the toxicity and ecotoxicity of chemicals, biochemicals and biological compounds whose use may have harmful consequences for human health and the environment.
In particular, the SCHER addresses questions in relation to new and existing chemicals, the restriction and marketing of dangerous substances, biocides, waste, environmental contaminants, plastics and other materials used for water pipe work (e.g. new organic substances), drinking water, indoor and ambient air quality. It also addresses questions relating to human exposure to mixtures of chemicals, sensitisation and identification of endocrine disrupters.
The SCHER consists of a maximum of 19 members. The members are appointed on the basis of their skills and experience in the fields in question and consistent with this a geographical distribution that reflects the diversity of scientific problems and approaches in the European Union. The experts are appointed for three years, renewable a maximum of three consecutive times. In agreement with the Commission, the Scientific Committees may turn to specialized external experts.
SCHER's scientific advisory procedures are based on the principles of scientific excellence, independence and transparency. The Opinions of the Committees are made available as quickly as possible following a request for advice from the Commission. In addition, the agendas, minutes of plenary meetings and lists of members are published.
The Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection also manages two other independent Scientific Committees on non-food products:
For questions concerning the safety of food products, the European Commission consults the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
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Galaxolide is a synthetic musk with a clean sweet musky floral woody odor used in fragrances. It is one of the musk components that perfume and cologne manufacturers use to add a musk odor to their products. Galaxolide was first synthesized in 1965, and used in the late 1960s in some fabric softeners and detergents. High concentrations were also incorporated in fine fragrances.
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The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, abbreviated BfR, is a body under public law of the German federal government with full legal capacity. The institute comes under the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture and has the task of providing scientific advice to the federal government on issues relating to food safety, product safety, chemical safety, contaminants in the food chain, animal protection and consumer health protection. Further technical supervision is performed by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety and the Federal Ministry of Transport.
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