SIK - Swedish Institute For Food And Biotechnology (S)
Institutet for Livsmedel och Bioteknik

Person in charge: Elisabeth Borch (eb@sik.se)
Main tasks in the project: Leader of WP2, (WP5, WP6, WP7, WP8, WP9)

Description of Participant and Expertise:

SIK (The Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology AB; SIK – Institutet för Livsmedel
och Bioteknik AB) is a private, non-profit,
industrial research institute.

SIK is a fully owned subsidiary of SP, the Swedish National Testing and Research Institute AB (SP, Sveriges Provnings- och Forskningsinstitut AB). The purpose of the Institute is to strengthen the competitiveness of its member companies. The number of employees is approx. 110, most of whom are university graduates. The head office is in Gothenburg, with regional offices in Lund and Uppsala.
The team in microbiology and biotechnology has many years of research experience in food microbiology. The areas of expertise are processing technologies for food preservation, prevalence studies, bacterial contamination routes, HACCP, risk assessment, bacterial survival and growth, predictive modelling, Yersinia enterocolitica, Escherichia coli O157 and other VTEC, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter spp., Clostridium spp., Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. Food safety research has been carried out along the food chain from the farm, in food processing plants, during transportation and storage, to final consumption.

Participating people

• Elisabeth Borch Ass. Prof., Director (responsible scientist) with expertise in response of pathogenic and food spoilage bacteria
• Filip Alm, senior scientist with expertise in machine design and mechanical engineering
• Birgitta Raaholt, senior scientist with expertise in electronics
• Birgitta Bergström, scientist with expertise in microbial growth and survival
• Pernilla Arinder, scientist with expertise in microbial risk assessment and predictive microbiology
• Maria Lövenklev, scientist with expertise in molecular microbiology
• Maria Lindblom, engineer with expertise in molecular microbiology
• Lars-Göran Vinsmo, engineer with expertise in PEF processing
• Ingela Karlsson technician with expertise in traditional and molecular analytical technologies and fingerprinting
• Lisbeth Märs, technician with expertise in traditional and molecular analytical technologies
• Marie Blomqvist, technician with expertise in traditional analytical technologies and identification methods

References relevant to the field of research:

• Borch, E. and Arinder, P. 2002. Bacteriological safety issues in red meat and ready-to-eat meat products, as well s control measures. Meat Science 62, 381-390
• Lövenklev, M., Artin, I., Hagberg, O., Borch, E., Holst, E. and Rådström, P. 2004. Quantitative interaction effects of carbon dioxide, sodium chloride and sodium nitrite on neurotoxin gene expression in non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum Type B. Applied Environmental Microbiol. 70, 2928-2934.
• Aronsson, K., Borch, E., Stenlöf, B. and Rönner, U. 2004. Growth of pulsed electric field exposed Escherichia coli in relation to inactivation and environmental factors. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 93, 1-10.
• Aronsson, K., Borch, E. and Rönner, U. 2004. Inactivation of Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in relation to membrane permeabilization and subsequent leakage of intracellular compounds due to pulsed electric field (PEF) processing. Int. J. Food Microbiol. In press.
• Eriksson, J, Löfström, C., Aspan, A., Gunnarsson, A., Karlsson, I., Borch, E., Engdahl Axelsson, C. and Rådström, P. 2005. Comparison of Genotyping Methods by Application to Salmonella Livingstone Strains, Associated with an Outbreak of Human Salmonellosis. Accepted for publication Int. J. Food Microbiol.