Applied Food Microbiology
Micro-organisms poses challenges for the stability and safety of food products and are an important cause of food loss. At Wageningen Food & Biobased Research our experts help to assess the safety and shelf life of products and processes and to develop solutions that ensure the highest possible safety and quality standards of food and drink products. To research the most appropriate solution for specific needs, we can offer multidisciplinary teams, with our clients, that include microbiologists, food product specialists, postharvest specialists, data scientists and process engineers.
Researching food safety and shelf life
Developing a safe and stable product requires control of microorganisms. We can help you to develop adequate processing conditions and preservation solutions by using our high-throughput screening facilities. We have automated platforms in combination with data processing pipelines to measure microbial growth and inactivation, and for cell enumeration. We can work with a wide variety of microorganisms including:
- Spoilage bacteria
- Food pathogens
- Fungi (yeast, molds)
- Microbial spores
Decision support for safety & shelf life
Predictive tools can be valuable to support decision making on the
safety and shelf-life of food products. We can provide food producers with
data-driven decision support tools, helping them to evaluate to identify
potential safety and spoilage hazards and make science-based decisions for
production processes and shelf-life.
- Development of microbial growth & inactivation models
- Scenario analysis and rational design of shelf life
- Decision making on requirements for process intensity, for example thermal treatment
- Decision support for automated hazard identification, for example to evaluate changes in the supply chain, use of new ingredients or side streams
Hygiene, cleaning & disinfection
Good hygiene practices are key to product safety and quality. This requires decisions on where to clean, how (often) to clean, disinfection methods and chemicals. We can assist in:
- Testing and validation of (new) disinfection methods, for example less consumption of water
- Safe (re)use of water
- Detection and eradication strategies, for example to prevent biofilms
Want to know more?
Contact us for an informal conversation.