Henriette Lyng Røder

Project title

TERA: Ecological Risk Assessment of Pathogen Persistence in Plant-Based Foods

What is your project about?

Plant-based foods are becoming increasingly widespread, but they can contain complex microbial communities that influence food safety. Today, risk is mainly assessed based on factors such as temperature, pH and single bacterial species, while interactions between bacteria are left out. The project investigates how entire microbial communities affect disease-causing bacteria, by e.g. enabling them to survive under new conditions or by increasing their potential to cause harm. This knowledge will be used to identify microbial fingerprints, meaning characteristic patterns in the composition and activity of microorganisms that can be linked to increased risk. In this way, the project aims to develop a new approach to risk assessment where the entire microbial community is considered, allowing earlier prediction and prevention of problems.

How did you become interested in your particular field of research?

Since my master’s thesis, I have been interested in how bacteria interact with each other. During my PhD, I worked specifically on how different bacterial species influence one another as they develop together. This is where I first became aware of how important interactions between species are for the overall function of microbial communities. Through research collaborations, I became interested in the food sector and aware of the important role bacteria play in this field, both beneficial and harmful. At the same time, I realized that many of the findings I had made could have important implications for both food production and food safety, which motivated me to continue working in this area.

What are the scientific challenges and perspectives in your project?

A key challenge is that we still cannot explain why bacteria that can make us ill sometimes behave differently in otherwise identical foods. This suggests that interactions between microbial communities play a crucial role, but these are difficult to measure and predict. However, technological advances have opened new opportunities to study problems that were previously very difficult or even impossible to address. The project will therefore combine advanced data collection methods with modern analytical approaches. This makes it possible to identify links between specific microbial communities and the ability of pathogens to survive in foods. This knowledge can be used to develop new, more precise tools for risk assessment and help shift food safety from focusing mainly on individual factors to also consider the entire microbial community.

What is your estimate of the impact, which your project may have to society in the long term?

The project can contribute to improved safety of plant-based foods and thereby support a safe and reliable green transition of the food system. This sense of safety is essential for both producers and consumers if changes in dietary habits are to take hold. By expanding current food safety approaches to include knowledge of entire microbial communities, we can achieve a better understanding of when foods become unsafe. The results will therefore be relevant for both the food industry and regulatory authorities and may also strengthen Denmark’s position in food safety research and the development of new sustainable food products.

Which impact do you expect the Sapere Aude programme will have on your career as a researcher?

It is a great honour to have been awarded such a prestigious grant as the Sapere Aude: DFF Research Leader grant. It provides a strong motivational boost and recognition of both my previous work and this new research direction. In practical terms, it allows me to recruit talented researchers who can help drive this ambitious project and further strengthen my research group. The project brings together my results into a new direction and will both strengthen my role as a research leader and provide a platform for disseminating the results. Receiving such a highly competitive grant is also an important step toward advancing my research further in the future.