Establishment of the International Centre of Competence in Meat Research under the Banner of Food Safety and Quality
The Max Rubner-Institut (MRI) gets an international centre of competence for meat quality. This was the announcement of Ilse Aigner, Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection at the opening of the annual symposium "Kulmbacher Woche" at the location Kulmbach in the presence of approximately 250 listeners from science, business, organizations and politics. At the location Kulmbach are settled the Department of Safety and Quality of Meat, parts of the Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology as well as the Working Group Analytics of the Max Rubner-Institut. According to the Minister one main topic will be the elaboration of European standards for the quality of the most important types of meat. A simultaneous goal is to strengthen the awareness for the safety of meat along the entire food chain. The previous scientific efforts of the departments in Kulmbach offer an outstanding basis for it. "A further international expansion of the technical excellence of the meat research in Kulmbach is the task of the future," said Minister Aigner. Altogether the Federal Ministry of Nutrition, Agriculture and Consumer Protection makes available a funding of up to euro 3.5 million over the next years.
Professor Gerhard Rechkemmer, President of the Max Rubner-Institut, welcomed the decision of the Federal Ministry to place still more emphasis on the international orientation of the MRI. By concluded cooperation agreements with different research institutions, recently with the University of New Zealand, the MRI took already important steps. Not later than next year a „Summer School for Research in Meat Quality“ is to be established at the new international centre for foreign scientists.