Gelelektroforese - foto: Mikkel Adsbøl

Foods we can trust

Food, fish and agriculture Food safety
Foods may contain substances that can have a harmful effect on our health. The National Food Institute assesses risks that can be found in the entire ‘from farm to fork’ chain to ensure the safety of food so that neither Danish nor international consumers will get sick from the food they eat.

Foods contain important nutrients, which are necessary for our health. However, foods can also contain harmful chemicals and disease-causing microorganisms. Therefore, it is important that we as consumers can safely eat the foods we buy from the shops.

Denmark has a long tradition of separating risk assessment and risk management. The National Food Institute conducts risk assessments within the area of food while the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark, The Danish Environmental Protection Agency, and the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration are responsible for managing the risk.

Danish results reverberate throughout Europe
"The ambition is that the Danish consumers, with a few clicks, can collect useful information about the advantages and disadvantages of eating foods from the supermarket shelves. Therefore, the National Food Institute would like to explore how we can make such data easily accessible and useful for the Danish consumers in the future"
Head of Division Flemming Bager

Denmark has a proud tradition for close collaboration between authorities, researchers, industry, and stakeholders to improve food safety. This not only promotes a feeling of security among Danish consumers, it also reverberates throughout the world, where Danish foods and Danish expertise are in great demand. 

Access to data is crucial

For many years, Denmark has had a science-based approach to food safety and relies on solid up-to-date data on population groups’ food intake, nutrients in foods, and exposure to chemicals and disease-causing microorganisms in food. As such, the National Food Institute has at its disposal a number of unique datasets that contain long time series with great methodological consistency.

Read more 

Read more about the National Food Institute’s work within the area of risk assessments and the institute’s national food databases in an article from the National Food Institute’s 60th anniversary publication: Foods we can trust.

The National Food Institute is celebrating its 60th birthday this year, as it was decided on June 5, 1959 to establish a national food institute in Denmark. The other articles from the anniversary publication will be published over the coming months.

You can also read the article: At the forefront of healthy, safe and sustainable food.

The National Food Institute prevents disesase and promotes health

Consumers are increasingly interested in their health. Magazines and news media are brimming with advice on healthy eating, exercising more and healthy living in general – and the demand for healthy and safe foods continues to increase. 

However, at the same time, more and more people are affected by infectious diseases and lifestyle diseases, and exposure to chemicals can lead to cancer and inhibit our ability to reproduce.

Thus, research that promotes health and prevents disease is very important.

The majority of the research projects, scientific advice to authorities, cooperation with businesses and teaching activities at the National Food Institute have the fundamental vision to make a difference by preventing disease and promoting health in a number of areas: 

  • Antimicrobial resistance
  • Unwanted effects of chemical substances
  • Nutrition
  • Food allergy
  • Microbiological food safety
  • Hygienic design in the production of food
  • Risk-benefit assessments of health effects
  • Chemical food analysis
  • Nano-materials in foods
  • Risk assessments
  • Gut health
  • Development of health food and ingredients.

 

Image: National Food Institute