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BfR - Department 4: Biological Safety (BfR - BIOS)
Institution
Section overview
Description
Within the framework of the statutory remit of risk assessment in the field of food safety and consumer protection, the Department Biological Safety deals with health risks for humans which may arise in particularl from micro-organisms, the toxins formed by them and other microbial metabolites. The micro-organisms of interest include bacteria, yeast and mould but also viruses, parasites and TSE pathogens.
This work encompasses not only food but also feed and consumer items (e.g. appliances for processing food, food packaging materials, tableware) as well as cosmetics including the processes for their collection, manufacture, processing and distribution as vehicles of biological risks.
The tasks include diagnostic methods for the detection of the various pathogens in foods, their virulence properties, as well as work on the prevalence of microbiological risks in foods and qualitative and quantitative risk assessments.
The Department is involved in establishing the cause of outbreaks of foodborne diseases and zoonoses (statutory task anchored in the Protection Against Infection Act).
The Department has a number of reference laboratories for the diagnosis and fine typing of pathogens, antibiotic resistance and the microbiological contamination of foods (a task anchored in food and zoonosis legislation).
Furthermore, it is responsible for carrying out and co-ordinating the collection of surveillance data in order to prepare the annual zoonosis trend report on the national and European levels.
BfR-commissions: 'biological hazards' and 'hygiene'.
Activities
- Research
Parent institution
Coordinated projects
- 2010: Development and validation of an ELISA for the detection of Leptospira infection
- Accelerating user-driven e-infrastructure innovation in food and agriculture
- Analysis and comparison of the genomes of temperate Brucella and Ochrobactrum phages
- Analysis of cell wall structures of predatory bacteria and characterization of proteomic changes during the life cycle
- Analysis of gene expression profiles allowing zoonotic Brucella species to adapt to their intracellular niche and to environmental stress
- Analysis of protein expression profiles allowing zoonotic Brucella species to adapt to host cell-mimicking stress conditions
- Analysis of the variability of antibiotic resistance profiles in Campylobacter
- Antibiotic Resistance Dynamics: the influence of geographic origin and management systems on resistance gene flows within humans, animals and the environment
- Antigens and Reassortant Strains for Rotaviruses Circulating in Africa
- Antimicrobial resistance determinants of Staphylococcus aureus and closely related Gram-positive bacteria
- Application of bacteriophages for the detection and isolation of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica strains in food
- Application of bacteriophages for the reduction of bacterial counts in animal derived foods
- Application of Bacteriophages for the Reduction of Campylobacter on Food
- Application of geographical information systems, GIS, for the analysis of epidemiological data
- Behaviour of micro flora and pathogens following decontamination of poultry carcasses
- Biocide tolerance and antibiotic cross-resistance in bacterial pathogens
- Biofilm problem in meat processing using the example of Listeria monocytogenes
- Brucella in fish
- BRUSE - Brucellosis from the sea
- Building a MALDI-TOF MS (Matrix-Assisted-Laser-Desorption-Ionisation Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry) database for typing and subtyping of bacteria belonging to the genera Vibrio and Yersinia
- Campylobacter and E. coli ? a network project (CampEc-NET)
- Carry over of nasal Methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) on the carcass of slaughter pigs at the abbatoir
- Cell-free production of thermally stable direct hemolysin (TdH)
- Changes in properties by gene transfer agents (e.g. E. coli, Yersinia)
- Characterisation and comparison of Salmonella enterica subsp. diarizonae strains isolated from animal (mainly sheep), food and human sources.
- Characterisation of Campylobacter lari strains
- Characterisation of colistin resistant Salmonella strains, screening for mcr genes and research on novel colistin resistance determinants.
- Characterisation of Salmonella Paratyphi B dT+ strains by phage typing
- Characterisation of the interaction between L. monocytogenes isolates and the microbial raw-milk community by metatranscriptomic analysis
- Characterisation of the samples tested in selected official investigation centres (monitoring of antimicrobial resistance)
- Characterization and optimization of the replication of hepatitis E virus in cell culture, a project of the German One Health Initiative (GOHI)
- Characterization of biofilm formation by Listeria monocytogenes
- Characterization of Chronic Hepatitis E in Germany: Molecular Epidemiology, Pathophysiology and Clinic
- Characterization of Methicillin-resistent Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) - isolates in respect of the presence of enterotoxin producing genes
- Characterization of mobile genetic elements in zoonotic agents (S. aureus and Yersinia)
- Characterization of predatory bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract of domestic animals
- Characterization of the zoonotic potential of poultry rotaviruses
- Characterization of vibrio cholerae non-O1, non-O139 from seafood by genome sequencing and virulence-associated phenotypic properties
- Collaborative project ESBL- and (fluoro-)quinolone resitance in enterobactericeae (RESET). Project IP1 characterization of newly emerging mechanisms for transfer of resistance to ß-lactam antibiotics with extended spectrum (ESBLs) and (fluoro) quinolones in German-Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli isolates from healthy poultry and pigs and products thereof
- Collaborative project: Application of bacteriophages for quantitative reduction of Campylobacter in broiler chickens – Subproject 1
- Collaborative project: Combined live/dead discrimination and real-time PCR approach for the quantitative risk assessment of viable Campylobacter applicable in international control strategies. Subproject A
- Collaborative Project: Development of innovative process integrated microbiological stage control systems for the reduction of Campylobacter spp. and Salmonella spp. in meat production - Subproject 2
- Collaborative project: Food safety and resilience of food chains in biological hazards
- Collaborative project: Pathogen behavioural pattern and epidemiology of leptospires. Subproject 2
- Collaborative project: Use of UV/UV-LED radiation for the reduction of microorganisms on eggs - subproject 5
- Collection of data fort he risk assessment on Salmonella in table eggs
- Commensal animal- and food-related Gram-positive bacteria as reservoir of re-sistance determinants for Staphylococcus aureus
- Comparison of the specificity of a series of real-time methods for Campylobacter subsp.
- Coordinated project: ESBL and (fluoro)quinolone RESistance in EnTerobacteriaceae
- Cost-benefit analysis of measures to reduce the prevalence of salmonella-serotyps in population of pigs for slaughter and the effect of determining maximum values for undesirable substances in animal nutrition
- Data generation on microbiological risks along the food chain
- Detection , isolation and characterization of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis along the food chain
- Detection and characterization of noro- and rotaviruses of chicken as potential zoonotic food-borne pathogens
- Detection and physiology of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) in flour and flour products
- Detection of Bacillus cereus toxins
- Detection of non-coli/jejuni Campylobacter species in different food matrices
- Detection of Norovirus in clinical samples of human provenience, in environmental and food samples to investigate virus transmission routes
- Detection of Shiga Toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) carrying the Shiga toxin-variant Stx2d in isolates from livestock, food and the environment. Studies on their virulence markers and their spectrum of serotypes
- Detection of Viruses in Food using 'Molecularly Imprinted Polymers'
- Development and harmonization of innovative methods for comprehensive analysis of toxigenic bacteria, ie. Staphylococci, Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens
- Development and validation of a Trichinella Western Blot for for the certification of pigs from fattening farms
- Development and validation of detection methods for phage preparations in food products
- Development of a basic structure for risk assessment
- Development of a cell culture system for stability testing of hepatitis E virus
- Development of a method applicable to § 64 LFGB for the detection and isolation of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) from plant foods
- Development of a rapid method to detect Campylobacter on poultry farms and at abattoirs
- Development of a Real-Time PCR system for identification and typing of bacteria be-longing to the ?Cereus- Group? from food.
- Development of a system to improve information exchange within the organizational infrastructure in the interest of a faster detection, monitoring and control of EHEC and other human pathogenic bacteria in the value chain vegetables in the Euregio Rhine Waal
- Development of a Variable-Number Tandem-Repeats (VNTR) analysis method for the subtyping of Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis und Virchow
- Development of a Variable-Number-Tandem-Repeat Analysis (MLVA) typing system for Salmonella Enteritidis isolates
- Development of an internal sample process control (ISPC) for the quantitative detection of viable Campylobacter via real-time PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)
- Development of antimicrobial resistance in Enterococci from cattle by prophylactic use of Monensin in cows in the transition period
- Development of harmonised schemes for monitoring and reporting of Echinococcus, Trichinella, Cysticercus and Sarcocystis in animals and foodstuffs in the EU (EFSA/Zoonoses/2007/01)
- Development of harmonised survey methods for foodborne pathogens in foodstuffs in the European Union (CFP/EFSA/Zoonoses/2008/2)
- Development, improvement and assessment of PCR methods for detection and subtyping of Yersinia
- Differential gene expression profiles of human pathogenic and non-pathogenic Brucella species within their host cells
- Ecology from Farm to Fork Of microbial drug Resistance and Transmission
- Effects of long-term exposure of bacteria to biocides in sublethal concentrations: Microbial adaptation and change in the composition of microbial communities
- Enterotoxin expression of Bacillus thuringiensis strains used as pesticides and biocidal products
- Epidemiological studies as the basis for the risk assessment of agroterroristically relevant pathogens
- Epidemiological study of brucellosis in human and animal populations in Kenya
- Epidemiological study on routes of introduction of Salmonella infection into the food production chain for table eggs
- EsRAM: Development of measures for reduction of antibiotic resistant bacteria along the entire poultry production chain. Subproject 7
- Establishing Next Generation Sequencing Ability for Genomic Analysis in Europe
- Establishment of a MLST for the typing of Leptospira
- Establishment of methods for the detection and characterisation of Clostridium difficile in food
- Establishment of microbiological and molecular methods for the detection of Cryptosporidium in vegetable food and faeces of game
- Establishment of Next Generation sequencing for genomic analysis of bacterial pathogens in Europe
- Establishmnet and validation of molecular methods for detection of Toxoplasma gondii in food
- Evaluation of production methods for salami type sausages in the framework of risk assessment to evaluate the survival or growth of pathogens and the possible mycotoxin burdden of mould ripened sausages
- Experimental studies on the effect of probiotics by means of challenge with pathogenic microorganisms
- Feasibility study on the tenacity of Toxoplasma gondii in short-matured raw sausage
- FOR 438 Subproject G: Experimental studies on the effect of probiotics by means of challenge with pathogenic microorganisms
- Further development of IT Tools for real outbreak investigation applications
- Generation of norovirus-like particles as antigen for the development of detection systems for viruses in food
- Genetic investigation of rough Salmonella Enteritidis strains
- Genome-based surveillance of transmissible colistin and carbapenem resistances of Gram-negative bacteria
- Harmonisation of methods for the monitoring of VTEC and subtyping of stx2 genes
- Hazard identification of Salmonella in the food chain (Subroject IP3 within the joint project Food-Borne Zoonotic Infections of Humans (FBI-Zoo))
- Identification of European Trichinella species by MALDI-TOF (Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization - time of flight)
- Identification of gut microbiota which confer resistance against Campylobacter infection
- Identification of marker genes for important Listeria monocytogenes serotypes as a basis for the development of rapid molecular methods
- Importance of new emerging serogroups of STEC / EHEC as contaminants of foodstuffs and potential pathogens of humans in Germany
- Improved bio-traceability of unintended micro-organisms and their substances in food and feed chains (Biotracer)
- Improvement of the cultural method for the detection of pathogenic yersiniae
- Improving phenotypic testing of AMR by development of rapid and sensitive screening assays for emerging resistances and setting missing ECOFFs (Epidemiologic cutoff values)
- Incidence and Characterization of Antibiotic Resistance Determinants in Salmonella Enteritidis Isolates from food and food-producing animals
- Increasing the capacity for risk assessments on foodborne protozoan parasites in ready to eat salad through standardisation of detection methods for the model organism Cryptosporidium
- Induction and expression of Shiga Toxins in STEC and EHEC strains for their diagnosis and as parameter for risk assessment
- Infection kinetics and host specificity of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the pig
- Integrated genome-based surveillance of salmonellae
- Integrated genomic surveillance of zoonotic pathogens
- Integrated project: Epidemiological research network: Foodborne Infections in Germany; Project: Quantitative Risk Assessment fo human Campylobacter infections due to consumption of chicken meat
- Interdisciplinary Research Network (MedVet-Staph) IP3 - MRSA in the food chain: Source attribution and transmission modelling based on molecularcharacterization of isolates from the food chain and from humans
- Investigation of Brucella in wildlife
- Investigation of food products illegally introduced into Germany by airport luggage for the presence of the non-endemic pathogens Brucella and ('2010:Trichinella').
- Investigation of fresh herbs and pepper from retail on presumptive Bacillus cereus with subsequent characterization of the isolates
- Investigation of mechanisms of resistance to triclosan
- Investigation of occurrence, types and human pathogenicity of Shiga- toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in meat samples from wild-life animals as a basis for risk assessment
- Investigation of Shiga-toxin 2e (Stx2e) producing strains of Escherichia coli as potential human pathogenic bacteria and their significance as contaminants in the food chain
- Investigation on contamination of raw consumed food of vegetable origin with VTEC / STEC / EHEC using serological and molecular detection methods
- Investigations of food (milk) for Listeria spp
- Investigations on the prevalence of colistin-resistance and their genetic determinants and localisations
- Isolation and characterization of the origin of transfer (oriT) of the Yersinia virulence plasmid pYV
- Junior research group
- Junior research group 'supply-chain-models'
- LA-MRSA spread from food to consumers. 2nd funding phase
- Long-term exposition of bacteria to microbicides in sublethal concentrations
- Long-term study in pigs infected with salmonella
- Longitudinal collection of consumption amounts for antibiotics in food-producing animals in selected representative veterinary practices and farms (subscriber-Sentinel)
- Longitudinal collection of consumption amounts for antibiotics in food-producing animals in selected representative veterinary practices and farms (subscriber-Sentinel)
- MALDI-TOF MS-based identification of microorganisms from complex samples
- Mass spectrometric characterisation/identification of microbial pathogens of Vibrio spp. '2010: Yersinia enterocolitica'
- Metabolic activity in raw milk-biofilms with Listeria monocytogenes after a sub-optimal clean-ing with hydrogen peroxide
- Methicillin resistant and enterotoxic S. aureus in raw milk from dairy cows
- Method comparison of isolation procedures for Yersinia enterocolitica from tonsils of slaughter pigs
- Microbial contamination of kitchen sponges
- Microbial stress response of Campylobacter jejuni and its role in food processing
- Microbiological investigations on the transmission dynamics and clonality of Staphylococcus (S.) aureus and livestock-associated MRSA in pig-holdings in connection with the modelling of contact structures within pig herds
- Microbiological safety of prepacked meat
- Mobile genetic elements of Brucella - bacteriophages
- Molecular characterization of porcine Campylobacter (C.) coli population. Extension of data situation as a precondition for the creation of risk assessment for C. coli
- Molecular detection of the highly pathogenic zoonotic agent Brucella in cheese samples originating from endemic countries.
- Molecular epidemiology of MRSA from livestock ? detailed characterization and typing of isolates for the deduction of epidemiological correlations
- Molecular mechanism of horizontal gene transfer in pathogenic epsilon-proteobacteria
- Molecular Risk Assessment of Shiga Toxin producing E. coli (STEC) from food and of attaching and effacing E. coli (AEEC) in regard to their human virulence and as a reservoir of new emerging enterohaemorrhagic E. coli types
- Molecular subtyping of Listeria monocytogenes using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE)
- Molecular typing as an alternative method for the serological determination of flagellar antigens in E. coli
- Molecular typing of Listeria monocytogenes in food as basis for an efficient risk assessment and control of listeriosis in Germany
- Molecular typing of Listeria monocytogenes in food as basis for an efficient risk assessment and control of listeriosis in Germany
- Molecular Typing of Salmonella und E. coli-Isolates by Pulsed-Field Gelelectrophoresis (PFGE) in Order to Recognize and Control Outbreaks of Foodborne Infections and to Characterize Clonal Structures within the Framework of PulseNet Europe, a European Molecular Subtyping Network for Foodborne Bacterial Disease Surveillance
- Multiplex real-time PCR rapid method for serovar-typing and quantification of salmonellae
- Multiplex-Real-Time PCR based rapid method for serovar typing and quantification of salmonellae
- Network for Prevention and Control of Zoonoses (Med-Vet-Net)
- Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) for Foodborne Viruses
- Novel aproaches for the design and evaluation of cost-effective surveillance across the food chain (EJP NOVA)
- One health - surveillance initiative on harmonization of data collection and interpretation
- One health intervention preventing of zoonotic spreading of antibiotic resistant germs - Methicillin-resistente Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and further multiresistant pathogens in milk food chain
- One health structure for signalling and risk-assessment of emerging threats across Europe
- Optimization of detection procedures for enteropathogenic bacteria of the genera Vibrio and Aeromonas in seafood and fish products
- Pathogenic E. coli in fresh produce production
- Pilot study investigating Leptospira serovars in wild boars
- Polyomaviruses in beef
- Prevalence and diversity among temperate bacteriophages (prophages) in the genome of methicillin-resistent staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates from the food-chain
- Preventing and combating campylobacter infections: on track towards a 'One Health' approach
- Project cooperation for continuous product traceability between the BfR and LANUV NRW (Field study commodity flows)
- Promoting One Health in Europe through joint actions on foodborne zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and emerging microbiological hazards
- Promoting One Health in Europe through joint actions on foodborne zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and emerging microbiological hazards
- Quantitative and qualitative detection of foodborne pathogens using real-time PCR and typing of the pathogens with DNA microarray
- Rat hepatitis E virus as a model virus for studies on stability, pathogenicity and transmission pathways of human hepatitis E viruses
- Resistance testing and molecular characterization of ESBL and (fluoro) quinolone resistance of E. coli and S. enterica from healthy pigs, poultry, food and the environment
- Risk assessment for evaluation of STEC contamination in food
- Risk assessment tools for the safety of global food and feed supply chains
- Risk assessment tools for the safety of global food and feed supply chains
- Risk evaluation for the quantitative estimation of the consequences of the oral application of antibiotics
- Risk potential determination of Salmonella Paratyphi B dT+ strains for animals and humans
- SAFE FOODS - Promoting Food safety through a New Integrated Risk Analysis Approach for Foods
- Safer indigenous pork and healther ethnic minorities in Vietnam by better management of parasitic food borne diseases
- Scientific and technical assistance relating to collection, reporting, compilation and analyses of data on food-borne outbreaks
- Second Generation Subtyping within the European Network PulseNet Europe: Development and Validation of a Multiple-Locus Variable-Number Tandem Repeat Analysis (MLVA) System for Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli
- Securing the spices and herbs commodity chains in Europe against deliberate, accidental or natural biological and chemical contamination (SPICED)
- Serotype 4b variant (IVb-v1) of Listeria monocytogenes as source of an listeriosis outbreak in Germany
- SFB 852 Nutrition and intestinal microbiota - host interaction in the pig, Individual Project A2: Influence of nutritional factors on the prevalence of viruses, including viruses with zoonotic potential, in faeces of clinically healthy pigs
- Small Fish and Food Security: Towards innovative integration of fish in African food systems to improve nutrition
- Spatial and phylogenetic characterisation of raw-milk biofilms with incorporated Listeria mo-nocytogenes
- Stability and inactivation of hepatitis E virus during food processing and in the environment
- Standardising molecular detection methods to IMprove risk assessment capacity for foodborne protozoan Parasites, using Cryptosporidium in ready-to-eat salad as a model
- Staphylococcus (S.) aureus in the dairy food chain in Zambia - combating foodborne disease and antimicrobial resistance in humans
- Staphylococcus (S.) aureus in the dairy food chain in Zambia - combating foodborne disease and antimicrobial resistance in humans
- Storage of deep frozen meat with special regard to human health and quality aspects
- Studies on the growth kinetics of Vibrio spp. in different matrices
- Studies on the microevolution of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
- Studies on the occurrence of infections with pathogens of the Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex (mycobacteriosis) in slaughter pigs
- Study on leptospirosis prevalence in dogs and humans
- Support of the national broiler campylobacter monitoring
- Survival of Listeria monocytogenes in meat products
- Temperate phages of Campylobacter jejuni
- Tenacity of Alaria spp. mesocercariae in different meat products
- Testing of Salmonella and E. coli isolates from pigs concerning their copper and zinc resistance
- The impact of brucellosis as a foodborne disease
- The impact of brucellosis as a foodborne disease
- The role of commensal microflora of animals in the transmission of extended spectrum ß-lactamases (ESBLs)
- Total genome sequencing of S. aureus, B. cereus and clostridia by NGS: Genetic structures of antibiotic resistance, virulence factors and species demarcation
- Toxin production of Vibrio spp.
- TRICHOPORSE - Safe pork and horse meat on EU-markets: early and unbiased diagnostic tests for Trichinella
- Type IV secretion in Yersinia: Occurrence, molecular characterization and genotyping of Yersinia isolates harbouring a conjugative type IV system
- Validation of the BfR in-house ELISA for the detection of Leptospira infection originating from foreign countries
- VetCAb: Representative collection of consumption amounts of antibiotics in food-producing animals. Conception and preparation of a pilot study
- Zoonoses and food safety along global supply chains. Coordination
Coordinated collaborative projects
Work package leader of collaborative projects
Involved in research projects
Contact
BfR - Department 4: Biological Safety
(BfR - BIOS)
Diedersdorfer Weg 1
12277 Berlin
Berlin
Germany
Phone: +49-(0)30-18412-2151
Fax: +49-(0)30-18412-2951
Email: 4(@)bfr.bund.de