The Federal Public Service (FPS) Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment was set up in 2001. Its competencies were transferred from:

• the former Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and Environment
• the regionalized Ministry of Agriculture

The following scientific establishments are linked to the FPS and carry out research into policy-supporting matters or issue advisory reports:

• Sciensano, Federal Research Centre
• The Superior Health Council

It works on the following domains:

• Health: They organize health care in Belgium. Our areas of expertise include, among others, hospital financing, health care policy and emergency medical aid co-ordination.

• Food: They ensure product safety at all levels of the food chain and we enforce the food safety standards set in the European legislation. They also implement standards and conduct checks on tobacco and alcohol products and cosmetics.

• Animals and plants: They promote animal and plant health. Their areas of expertise include, among others, ensuring the quality and safety of animal products, protection against plant diseases, pesticides, fertilizers and soil improvers, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

• Environment: They strive for a high-quality environment for all. They manage, inter alia, the integrated product policy, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the REACH convention, the co-ordination of the international environmental policy, the protection of the North Sea, and the CITES convention.