• Innovative detection methods
• Molecular Epidemiology
• Adaptation of Pathogenic Micro-organisms
• Global Food Safety
• Ecology of Food Related Zoonotic Agents

Innovative detection methods

Patrick-Julian Mikuni's Innovative Detection Methods team focuses on the development and improvement of patented sample preparation systems and rapid molecular test methods for the detection and quantitative determination of pathogenic microorganisms in food. New detection methods have been developed in recent years for the following organisms: Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella spp., thermotolerant Campylobacter, Clostridium chauvoei, coagulase-positive Staphylococci). In recent years, new concepts for the disinfection and control of “dormant” bacterial clones have been added to the focus areas.

Molecular Epidemiology

The working group Molecular Epidemiology Beatrix Stessl deals with the molecular typifying of zoonotic agents using pulsed field gel electrophoresis, PCR-based techniques and sequence based methods. These methods are used for clarification of interrelation contamination within or outside the food producing establishments. In addition, they are responsible for establishing reference stocks and databases of the genotypes of foods and clinical material of isolated pathogenic micro-organisms as a basis for managing intervention-epidemiological measures.

Adaption of Foodborne Pathogens

The team of Kathrin Kober-Rychli focuses on adaption mechanisms of foodborne pathogens to food and the food producing environment. We primarily aim to understand the stress response and virulence of Listeria monocytogenes by performing genome and transcriptome analysis, in vitro and in vivo virulence assays and by using biofilm models.

Global Food Safety

The Global Food Safety Working Group led by Dagmar Schoder focuses on analytical and systemic questions related to food safety. Its work centres on Listeria monocytogenes, foodborne outbreaks, contamination dynamics in food production environments, operational hygiene, risk-based sampling, and applied prevention strategies.

A further area of focus is food fraud, food defense, illegal food flows, and the intentional manipulation of food. The working group investigates how food supply chains can become vulnerable through deception, adulteration, insufficient control, or deliberate interference — and how such risks can be scientifically detected, assessed, and reduced.

Research priorities include, among others, melamine in milk powder and infant formula, illegally imported foods, honey fraud, and current challenges affecting global food supply chains. The aim is to understand food safety not merely as a laboratory issue, but as the interplay of analytical methods, trade flows, operational practice, and risk prevention.

Ecology of Food Related Zoonotic Agents

The team of Evelyne Selberherr has focused on descriptive and functional microbiome studies by using state of -the-art Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)-Technologies. In collaboration with a number of companies, contamination maps are developed that allow to study and interrupt microbial transmission events on an unprecedented level. By looking in functional pathways, the team looks into responses of microbiota that either contribute to a special product character or, in an adverse case, limit shelflife and durability through microbial spoilage effects.