Internships at Wageningen Food Safety Research

Wageningen Food Safety Research specialises in researching food safety and reliability. We answer questions like:

• What kinds of toxic substances are found in the plant?
• Is this organic egg really organic?
• Does this chocolate really contain 70% cocoa?
• Is this fish fresh or defrosted?
• Was this chicken given antibiotics?
• Are there any pathogenic bacteria or viruses in our food?
• What are alternatives to animal testing?
• How safe is it to eat insects?

Food safety and reliability

Answering these kinds of questions requires different types of research expertise and techniques, but also and especially driven and enthusiastic individuals. Is that you? And are you also looking for a traineeship or thesis subject? Then you’ve come to the right place!

Ambitious

Wageningen Food Safety Research is characterised by an atmosphere that is friendly, but above all ambitious. Our institute plays an important role in food safety crises both major and minor. We are looking for people who want to see this world from up close.

Searching for substances

 We search for banned growth hormones, medicines, pesticides, toxic plant substances, nanoparticles and various polluting substances like dioxins, PCBs and heavy metals.We do this using various laboratory techniques, such as LC-MS/MS, ICP-MS, PCR and ELISA.

Unknown substances, forensic research, food fraud

For the most part, we search for known substances, although we also find unknown substances that can be harmful. We conduct forensic research and in this way determine, for example, the cause of the contamination. We also prove food fraud. This includes fraud involving components in foodstuffs. And we determine whether the origin of a product or production method is correct. This fascinating research takes place in very extensive and modern research facilities.

Is a substance safe?

We examine the composition of food in the broadest sense of the word. How safe is a substance? Based on the information we find, we assess any potential food safety risks. By simulating the digestion process in the lab (without animal testing!), for example, we can see what happens with the substances in the foodstuff during digestion and absorption.

The best research facilities

Our research matters and is conducted in the very best facilities. This also makes it possible to continuously develop new methods to measure even more effectively and quickly.