Research of Food Microbiology
To control food safety and quality from production to consumption, solid understanding of microbial behaviour is essential. At Food Microbiology, we aim to predict and explain how microbes behave in food. We study both the beneficial side of microorganisms, such as fermentation, and the negative side, including spoilage and foodborne diseases.
Microorganism can indeed have a positive effect on our food. By fermenting our food, they increase the shelf life of the products. In addition, the fermentation process gives products such as yogurt, kimchi and tempeh their unique flavour. All these are topics of research within our chair group.
At the same time, we study spoilage of foods by microorganisms and pathogens. Our goal is to better understand their behaviour, especially under stress conditions. For this, we use physiology and genetics. To prevent contamination with microorganisms, good manufacturing practices (including personal hygiene) and the principles of cleaning and disinfection are included in this discipline. All this knowledge of microorganisms, together with data about their presence in food products and in the environment, make it possible to develop models for their behaviour. These models may be used to predict shelf life and safety of food products and can be used in quantitative risk assessments.
Research themes
Food fermentation
We explore how microbes shape the taste, safety and quality of fermented foods and aim to improve starter cultures to optimise control of food fermentation.
Quantitative Risk Assessment
We study how to predict and reduce risks from harmful microbes in food. We determine intelligent interventions and good food safety management systems to reduce foodborne infections.
Quantitative Ecology of Pathogens
We aim to understand how foodborne pathogens successfully survive in food and food environments and how they transit to a host.
Physiology and Genomics
Using genomics and physiology, we study stress responses, biofilms and spores at population and single-cell level. These data help design smarter preservation methods and improve food safety.