Bioengineering and microbial dynamics with food interfaces

Research topics

The laboratories specialist area is the study of microbial interactions with interfaces, the aim of which is to control food contamination by way of alteration flora and pathogens during their technological trajectory (production, then preservation).
The laboratory's activity in the field of controlling the hygiene quality of food and its production environment concentrates on:

- the study of the mechanisms of biopreservation of traditional fermented food with expertise in cheese industries. The laboratory has also contributed to revealing the presence of microbial consortia that inhibit the development of monocyte strains of Listeria throughout the life-cycle of the wooden boards used for the maturing process in traditional cheese-making.

- the development of innovative approaches to improve hygiene quality in food production. They have, until now, been based on the functionalisation of materials (for example, wrappings (cellulose-ether films, hard corn flower based biodegradable materials) or textiles (cotton-polyester) using non-volatile anti-microbial molecules.

Precisely understanding the mechanisms by way of which micro-organisms contribute to the biopreservation of food in traditional systems means that it is now possible to extend their use to preserving other foods such as fresh produce, which would be a highly original innovation. From a scientific point of view, developing these applications relies on controlling microbial interactions with the interfaces (in particular, the surface of foods, and materials that come into contact with them).