Food hygiene research

The objectives of research work in the field of food hygiene are the methodical recording of health risks and the characterisation of hygiene and quality defects before, during and after food production. The research priorities should form the basis for the development of safety concepts and contribute to the continuous review and improvement of existing safety concepts. In this context, all manufacturing processes are considered from the point of view of food hygiene.

Furthermore, food hygiene research at the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment serves to provide quantitative risk estimates.

The establishment and validation of detection methods for microorganisms in food as well as studies on the behaviour of microorganisms in food are the focus of research activities.

• Examination of process parameters in the production of food
• Detection of the bacterial stress response and stress adaptation in response to technological stressors using expression analyses (qRT-PCR and microarray analyses)
• Development and validation of microbiological and molecular biological detection methods for Vibrio spp., Campylobacter spp. and Listeria monocytogenes
• Research on the problem of biofilms in meat processing using the example of Listeria monocytogenes
• Characterisation of the virulence of microorganisms in food
• Detection of the tenacity of food-hygienically relevant microorganisms in food
• Work on quantitative risk estimates