Laboratory of Food Microbiology
The laboratory of Food Microbiology is located in Bologna. Research activities cover different aspects of food microbiology which are mainly related to vegetable and animal raw materials, food processing, storage and delivery. In particular, research studies related to food spoilage, safety, fermentation and shelf-life are performed. Research activities are also carried out in the framework of projects funded at regional, national and European level, as well as consultancy or collaborative or commissioned studies by agro-food industries.
Research topics
The main research activities deal with:
• Isolation, functional and technological characterization, selection and use of microbial starter cultures for the production of fermented, probiotic or functional foods
• Optimization of thermal treatments for the inactivation of food spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms
• Evaluation of the effectiveness of non-thermal treatments in decontaminating surfaces and foods
• Study of the effects of compositive, chemico-physical, processing and storage conditions on metabolic activities and growth potential of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms relevant for food safety and shelf-life
• Study of microbial response and adaptation mechanisms to chemico-physical and processing stresses
• Molecular and technological characterization of microorganisms of food relevance
• Studies on dairy fermented foods
• Studies and pilot scale production of cured meat, and namely salami.
Equipment available in the laboratory
The laboratory of Food Microbiology is equipped with basic instruments for traditional and molecular microbiological analyses, including incubators, deep freezers, autoclaves, UV-VIS double-beam spectrophotometers. Such equipment also include:
• chemical and laminar flow hoods
• optical microscopes
• benchtop freeze dryer
• horizontal and vertical electrophoresis chambers and a gel image acquisition device
• Bio-Rad system for gradient electrophoresis on denaturing gel (PCR-DGGE)
• BIOLOG Phenotype Microarray System
• FTIR-ATR spectrophotometer (Thermo Nicolett Avatar 360)
• water activity meter (Aqualab)
• ripening room with controlled water activity and relative humidity.
Services and consulting
The Laboratory of Food Microbiology carries out microbiological consultancy and activities commissioned by food industries on topics related to traditional foods and the development of innovative ones, optimization of food processes, assurance and improvement of food safety, and shelf-life prediction.
Teaching and training activities
The Laboratory offers its resources to support:
• Training and practice for bachelor’s and master's courses on basic, industrial and food microbiology
• Preparation of bachelor's and master's theses
• Research activities carried out by Italian and foreign PhD, post-doctoral and research fellows.
