University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Food Research Institute

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Food Research Institute (FRI) is an internationally recognized leader in the research of microbial foodborne pathogens and toxins. To fulfill its mission, FRI provides expertise to identify and resolve food safety issues to meet community, government and industry needs, and delivers quality education and training to students and industry.

FRI faculty perform a wide array of research important to the food and ingredient industry, from basic research of foodborne bacteria, fungi and protozoa, to pre- and post-harvest food safety. In addition, FRI’s Applied Food Safety Laboratory specializes in conducting studies to validate the safety of food manufacturing processes and the efficacy of formulation controls.

FRI has a lengthy and impressive list of alumni across academia, government and the food industry who currently are having an impact in enhancing food safety. Undergraduates and graduate students often train in FRI faculty laboratories, where they learn valuable technical skills and gain practical knowledge of food manufacturing. FRI is proud of its graduates and aims to maintain this pipeline of highly skilled food safety professionals.

FRI also works closely with the food industry, who help identify critical, real-world problems faced by food manufacturers. Funding to FRI from sponsor companies facilitates rapid research to better understand and solve such problems while also providing support to faculty research that is most relevant to FRI sponsor needs. Importantly, FRI offers industry a host of educational resources, including workshops (Food Safety and Meat Microbiology School, Better Process Cheese School, HACCP certification and FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Foods certification), free food safety webinars, various conferences and scientific meetings, custom literature reviews and company-specific food microbiology and safety training sessions.

To learn more about FRI and its resources for students and industry, contact FRI outreach coordinator Adam Borger at adam.borger@wisc.edu or 608-263-7062, or visit www.fri.wisc.edu.