Who we are
AGES, the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, is dedicated to preventing and containing potential risks to humans, animals, and plants, thereby ensuring greater safety for consumers in Austria, all in line with the One Health concept. To achieve this, we analyze, monitor, evaluate, research, and communicate year-round.
At the Department for Feed Analysis and Quality Testing, we conduct analytical testing as part of the enforcement of legislation (Feedstuffs Act, Fertilizers Act, Seeds Act, LMSVG (Food Safety and Consumer Protection Act)) and through private sector contracts for feedstuffs or agricultural raw materials. These analyses include testing for declared/nutritive components, feed additives, and undesirable substances using official methods and screening techniques. Additionally, we examine the technological and rheological properties of agricultural crops and perform microscopic analysis of feedstuffs.
We serve as the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for the control and authorization of feed additives, animal by-products, and myco- and plant toxins in feedstuffs. Furthermore, we are continuously involved in research projects and scientific activities in the fields of animal nutrition, food and feed safety and quality, cereal science, and grain technology.
Why/How are we going Green
Our aim is to contribute to the protection of our ecosystem by supporting the sustainable use of laboratory resources. For this reason, we seek to increase awareness of the impact of laboratory work and how it can be reduced by facilitating the sharing of information. We are currently replacing plastics, recycling PP and HD-PE, reducing energy consumption, and our department has already achieved an almost paper-free environment. Furthermore, we are committed to reducing the use of solvents (downscaling processes), reusing solvents, and exploring alternatives to replace environmentally harmful chemicals in analytical methods.
