For information about sponsored projects, proposals and budgets, or to schedule a project, contact Kristin Schill at (608) 264-1368 or kristin.schill@wisc.edu, Kathy Glass at (608) 263-6935 or kglass@wisc.edu, or any of the FRI faculty. Priority access is given to FRI Sponsor Organizations.
Cindy Austin, (608) 219-1424, cbaustin@wisc.edu
The Food Research Institute (FRI) has long been a leader in identifying food safety issues and providing reliable data and judgment for science-based decision-making by academia, industry and regulators to ensure a safe food supply for the public.
To support this mission, the FRI Applied Food Microbiology and Safety Laboratory conducts practical research and testing of food formulations. Results from these studies are used to identify strategies to inhibit microbial growth and toxin production or to enhance the rate of inactivation of foodborne bacterial pathogens. Routine shelf-life studies are not conducted.
Microbial challenge studies reflect guidelines developed by the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (click here for info). Data derived from well-designed and implemented studies are used by manufacturers to modify formulation, processing, cooking instructions, and storage time and temperatures, and to identify limits for critical control points.
Research is funded through sponsored research agreements with individual food companies and industry consortia, competitive federal grants, and unrestricted gifts by FRI sponsors. Projects are conducted and supervised in collaboration with FRI Executive Committee and Affiliated Faculty and coordinated by the FRI Associate Director.