POSTHARVEST SOLUTIONS

Scientific innovations for food production

Food safety from farm to fork is of crucial importance to protect public health and ensure the well-being of consumers. Contaminated or unsafe food can lead to widespread foodborne illnesses, hospitalisations, and even fatalities. By implementing rigorous safety measures at every stage of the food production and distribution process, we can minimise the risk of foodborne pathogens, chemical contaminants, and toxic metabolites entering the food supply. Preventing foodborne illnesses not only protects individuals but also reduces the economic burden of healthcare costs and food recalls, fostering trust in the food industry, safeguarding the overall quality of life, and contributing to food security.

Area 2 has set out an ambitious program to detect, control, and mitigate public health-associated microbiological and chemical hazards of selected water and food sources. The activities in Area 2 directly contribute to SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) and SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and further have indirect effects on others, like SDG 2 (Zero Hunger, Food Security) or SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).

Topics

1. Innovations for plant-based foods
2. Innovations for the dairy industry
3. Innovations for the meat industry
   
   

Objectives

• Strengthening aspects of sustainability and circular economy in food production
• Improving food safety, tolerance and shelf life
• Innovations for water quality assessment
• Increasing the crisis safety of food businesses through improved contamination management
  
  

Solutions pursued at the centre

• Optimisation of production processes to reduce process-related contaminations
• Physical product stabilisation to reduce failures and increase safety
• Use of microorganisms for the production of physiologically valuable products
• Development of value-adding utilisation possibilities of by-products
• Use of molecular biology and bioinformatics to identify entry pathways and hotspots of undesirable microorganisms
• Method development for detection and quantification of undesirable microorganisms