Centre of Toxicology and Health Safety

The Centre of Toxicology and Health Safety (CTZB) consists of six departments, namely the Department for Chemical Safety of Products, Department for Special Food Types and Microbiology of Consumer Products, Department of Alternative Toxicological Methods, Department of Toxicogenomics, Department of Biomedicine and the Department for Welfare of Laboratory Animals. Within these departments are nine National Reference Centres, Points and Laboratories.
The specific tasks, and thus the focus of the CTZB, are based on Act No. 258/2000 Coll. on the Protection of Public Health, as amended, to complete assignments set by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic, and from the Statute of the National Institute of Public Health.
The CTZB provides assessment of the safe use of dietary supplements, foods for special nutrition and other types of foodstuffs, evaluation of the biological and chemical safety of cosmetic products, consumer products and materials intended for contact with food, toys and products intended for children under the age of three, as well as the chemical safety of building materials and the indoor environment of habitable spaces in certain types of buildings. CTZB is also focused on the study of revealing the mechanisms of chemical carcinogenesis and tumorigenesis in cases where the influence of the occupational and living environment can be expected, screening of genetic disposition using genomic and proteomic methodology for preventive and diagnostic measures leading to wider use of toxicogenomics in public health, especially in the field of prevention and prognosis of cancers.
CTZB serves the NIPH and other entities as an accredited reference user and breeding facility for laboratory animals both for conventional breeding of laboratory animals, and SPF quality (specific-pathogen-free) breeding, as well as biological risk category III work and the handling of GMO categories I and II.

The target tasks of CTZB are particularly:
• Provision of specialised, methodical, reference, research, educational, expertise, advisory and consultation activities in the field of the toxicology of consumer products and their components, and public health protection.
• Performing chemical and biological analyses and evaluation of health risks for the above-mentioned commodity products as required by the Ministry of Health and other institutions.
• Monitoring the undesirable presence of substances of social importance with potentially negative effects on human health, especially substances classified as CMR and endocrine disruptors.
• Developing research activity and supporting participation in national and international research projects, cooperation with reference workplaces in other EU member states.
• Representing the Czech Republic in European Commission committees and working groups, the Council of Europe, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and in the international standard-setting organisations OECD, CEN and ISO, including the preparation of technical sources.