Lebensmittel und Betriebshygiene

Research

Our research focuses on food safety issues in food production, in food marketing and in the consumer. Microbiological risks are in the foreground. For example, we focus on questions of cleaning and disinfection, kitchen hygiene in commercial and private kitchens, and the behavior of pathogens in the food environment. In this context, rapid methods for the detection of pathogenic germs also play a role.

 

Main research topics

Food Microbiology

  • behavior of pathogens in the food environment
  • diagnostics/ rapid methods (surface microbial content, detection of pathogenic germs in food and environmental samples)

Industrial hygiene

  • cleaning and disinfection (cleaning and disinfection agents, procedures, effectiveness, success control)

Air hygiene

  • Hygiene regimes, hygiene controls


Laboratory and practical test models for sanitation and disinfection measures

Food safety and consumer protection

Consumer behavior and food safety in private households

Food safety concepts (hygiene, HACCP)

  • Cooperative Research

    In accordance with our service profile, the Laboratory for Hygiene Research takes on the processing of scientific-technical questions in cooperation with interested partners from industry. The integration of project work and theses is also possible. For this purpose, years of experience in research, practice and laboratory diagnostics of food and industrial hygiene topics are used. The modern equipment of the laboratory, competent consultation as well as close connections to the practice are guarantor for qualitatively high-quality achievements.

    Selected cooperation partners:

        Food companies
        Community catering
        Service companies
        Chemical companies
        Hygiene companies
        Diagnostics companies
        Associations (food, trade, consumers)
        Research institutes
        Public institutions

  • Research projects
      • Environmentally sound disinfection procedures in the food industry (degree 2004)
      • Kitchen hygiene in television chefs (degree 2007)
      • Microbiological investigations of frozen ready meals with special consideration of the best before date under ideal and crash conditions during production and preparation - investigations on product safety (completion 2007)
      • Review of a new method for germ reduction on poultry carcasses (completion 2007)
      • Challenge studies to determine the growth potential of Listeria monocytogenes in deli salads (completed 2012)
      • Comparison of the detection capability of different smear methods (completed 2012).
      • Investigations to validate the 3M MDS method for pathogen diagnostics in swab samples (completed 2013).