Food Microbiome
Monitoring of microbiome during food production and storage.
Main research topics
Microbial ecology of food fermentations
Monitoring of microbial populations and their activities during the production of different fermented foods (dairy products, fermented meat, etc.) to understand how to modulate environmental and technological factors to exploit microbial activities for the improvement of food quality (e.g. production of flavours).
Microbial ecology of food spoilage
Studying microbial dynamics during the storage of fresh and processed food products and the effect of storage conditions (temperature, type of packaging, addition of preservative compounds, etc.) on the spoilage microbiome. Development of innovative food antimicrobial packaging. Monitoring of microbial activities and metabolites leading to food spoilage.
Food-processing microbiome
Mapping of microbial populations in food processing environments and its influence on food quality and safety.
Food safety
Tracking of pathogens along the food chain and the effect of different factors (packaging, storage conditions, addition of antimicrobial compounds, etc.) on their survival and proliferation. Studying their virulence mechanisms (e.g. antibiotic resistance genes)..