Sponsor Overview

Sponsors are vital to the ongoing success of the Food Research Institute. Gifts from food companies, suppliers, and trade associations provide financial support that allows FRI to respond quickly to developing food safety issues. Sponsor donations provide funding for faculty and staff to build their food safety research programs and help support FRI infrastructure.

FRI also serves as a portal to the food microbiology and safety resources at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This includes access to collaborative research projects at the Applied Food Safety Laboratory and opportunities for students, academics, and industry personnel to work with FRI faculty and staff on problems involving foodborne pathogens. FRI also regularly conducts a variety of seminars, conferences, and workshops, and provides access to concise food safety literature reviews.

FRI's Research Focuses

FRI research focuses on strategies for the prevention of foodborne disease and understanding the mechanisms by which foodborne pathogens cause disease. Our faculty and staff have expertise with the major bacterial foodborne pathogens including Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, pathogenic E. coli, and exceptional expertise with Clostridium botulinum and botulinum toxins. Our group also has considerable experience with fungi and mycotoxins and with Toxoplasma and emerging protozoal pathogens. Other areas of FRI strength include microbiome analysis, probiotics, food allergens, and process-generated toxicants.

Recent fundamental and applied investigations by FRI faculty and staff include the following:

• Evaluation of clean label antimicrobials for cheese and RTE meat
• Enhancing the safety of reduced-sodium foods
• Novel methods to detect and prevent formation of botulinum toxins
• Novel methods to prevent and eliminate mycotoxin production
• Pre-harvest and post-harvest interventions for STECs and other foodborne pathogens
• Insights into the pathogenesis of toxoplasmosis and Cyclospora
• Interactions between plant pests and Salmonella
• Survival of Salmonella in dry environments
• Validation of pepperoni processing to control STEC
• Biofilm formation and control strategies

Become a Sponsor

Industrial companies that support FRI provide an annual contribution based upon their annual volume of food sales. The current rate is $34.00 per million dollars in sales up to a billion dollars of food sales, for a maximum of $34,000. The minimum annual gift is $2,500.

Companies and associations wishing to become an FRI sponsor should contact FRI Director Charles Kaspar or Outreach Coordinator Adam Borger for additional details.

If you wish to donate electronically, you may do so via the UW Foundation's secure web server.