Research - Danish Agriculture & Food Council

Research

The Danish Agriculture and Food Council carries out research and development projects relating to food safety and veterinary conditions. The research contributes to the maintenance of a high level of food safety and a profitable production of meat with a high health and quality status.

The Pig Research Centre (website only available in Danish. An English version will follow shortly) is fully integrated in the Danish Agriculture and Food Council and has the technical responsibility for research and development tasks regarding the living pig as well as dissemination of knowledge.

The research and development tasks related to food safety and veterinary conditions comprise:

Analysis of data and other registrations from surveillance of livestock health status both in farms and at the abattoir
Control of zoonoses, for example Salmonella, Campylobacter and Trichinella
Risk analysis of introduction of exotic, infectious livestock diseases to Denmark, such as swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease
Risk analysis for the presence of undesirable pathogens, residues etc. in meat
Design of risk-based monitoring systems in abattoirs and processing companies
Cost-effect and cost-benefit analyses of initiatives concerning animal health and food safety

The research is often carried out in cooperation with public and private research institutes such as the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, The National Veterinary and Food Institutes at DTU, The Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aarhus University, the Danish Meat Research Institute and the European Food Safety Authority.