Research in the Department of Food Safety

Our Research Projects

Project start: 01.01.2023
Project end: 30.06.2024

In various areas branches of horticulture and also in the food industry, efficient cleaning and disinfection of shoe and boot soles, both in the entrance area and between different departments, is considered an important hygiene measure. Hygiene sluices are available for this purpose, among others, which consist of a combination of hand disinfection and shoe sole cleaning. So far, there are very few well-founded study results on the effectiveness of such devices. Therefore, the project will determine whether a commercially available hygiene sluice has sufficient cleaning and disinfection performance and which parameters are responsible for this. In this context, a standardised test procedure for the validation of hygiene sluices will first be developed. Since previously used inoculation methods did not correspond to the usual soiling in horticultural work areas, a standard soiling is being developed that takes these conditions into account and with which specific practical conditions can be simulated by simple variation. This standard soiling will first be tested for its suitability for the contamination of shoe soles. Furthermore, tests will be carried out to optimise the hygiene sluice. The results will be used to develop recommendations as a standard method for manufacturers and users of hygiene sluices, which can contribute significantly to minimising the risk of transmission of relevant microorganisms in the production and processing of vegetables.

Project start: 01.05.2021
Project end: 30.04.2024
Sponsor: Federal Ministry of Education and Research

The ErdHase collaborative project ensures a better quality of life and safety for peanut and hazelnut allergy patients. It combines clinical, analytical and food production know-how. The aim of this project is to provide analytical tools for the management of food allergens along the food production value chain. Those analytical methods will be linked to the immune repertoire of a patient cohort for food allergen detection.

Hochschule Geisenheim
© Verbundprojekt ErdHase

Project start: 01.09.2020
Project end: 31.08.2023
Sponsor: Development agency for agribusiness

“Witality – Wine in Virtual Reality” is a collaborative research project between the scientific community and industry experts. Participating institutions are Hochschule Geisenheim University, Department of Enology, University of Applied Science Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Institute of Visual Computing, Pieroth Wein AG and DLG Test Service GmbH. The three year reserach project is funded by the Develpment Agency for Agribuiness. The partners are focusing on practice-oriented research on the use of virtual reality (VR) for sensory analysis of wine. The University of Applied Science Bonn-Rhein-Sieg will develop a special VR software to simulate typical locations for wine tastings, such as bars and wine shops. With smart glasses, consumers can immerse in these virtual realities. At the beginning of the project, Hochschule Geisenheim University will determine how olfactory and acoustic stimuli in VR affect the sensory evaluation of wine. To that end, the simulated situations are analyzed in comparison to an evaluation in a standardised evironment like sensory laboratories. In a next step, researchers will examine how the sensory evaluation of samples changes when they are consumed under different conditions (e.g. standard sensory laboratory, wine shop vs wine shop simulated in virtual reality). Pieroth Wein AG and DLG Testservice GmbH will test the usability of the smart glasses and software, too. The aim of the project is to provide a tool that can be used by various stakeholders in the wine industry for many different reserach questions and thus helps to open up new market segments and consumer groups.

Project start: 01.01.2020
Project end: 01.01.2023
Sponsor: Landesamt für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz

The three-year research project “Korn B – sustainable extension of crop rotation using old spring cereals in water sensitive areas and the evaluation of their suitability for baking and brewing.” is funded by the European innovation partnership (EIP). Project partners are reflecting the whole value chain. Farmer, baker, brewer and the chamber of agriculture North-Rhine Westphalia as well as the city of Hamminkeln are conducting research on cereals extracted from genetic libraries. The university of Griesheim’s main focus will be on the evaluation of the cereals suitability for baking and brewing by applying malting and brewing experiments on a small- and pilot-scale, together with baking tests following standardised procedures.

Project start: 01.01.2018
Project end: 31.12.2019
Sponsor: uratorium für Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft e.V.

Determining on a scientific basis why specific food and wine combinations are prefered by consumers and others not by using the food pairing and food completing theory.

Project start: 01.09.2016
Project end: 31.12.2018
Sponsor: Hessen State Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts

Nuts can cause severe allergic reactions. To protect allergy sufferers, they must be labelled on food packaging. Antibody-based tests are the most commonly used analytical methods to detect nuts in food. They are mainly used by the food industry and commercial or public laboratories. Nuts are often difficult to detect in processed foods that have been baked or roasted, for example. The aim of this project is to improve the detection of nuts in food, especially hazelnut and almond. This will lead to increased safety for allergy sufferers when consuming these foods. The partners involved, R-Biopharm, Geisenheim University of Applied Sciences and Fresenius University of Applied Sciences in Idstein, bring extensive experience in allergen analytics and food processing to bring an improved method for detecting nuts to the market.