Bundesministerium für Landwirtschaft, Ernährung und Heimat

At present, insects are rarely used by the European food industry, but they are a subject of growing interest as an alternative source of raw materials. The risks associated with the use of insects in the production of foods and food ingredients have not been sufficiently investigated. There is a lack of scientifically based knowledge of insect processing to ensure food safety, especially when these processes are carried out on an industrial scale. This review focuses on the safety aspects that need to be considered regarding the fractionation of insects for the production of foods and food ingredients.

The paper deals with some general features of drip loss and the most important factors influencing it. Moreover, it shows some exemplary results of an own investigation. Up to now there is no generally valid definition of drip loss available. Therefore measurement procedures have to be strongly standardized, otherwise they provide no comparable results. Drip loss depends on the shortening of sarcomeres which is regulated by the interaction of muscle temperature and rigour development. Hence, the chilling conditions are highly important. However, the main point is the velocity and the extent of the pH fall after slaughter. All factors influencing the occurrence of quality deviations like PSE, DFD, Acid meat, RSE, PFN will inevitably affect the degree of drip loss too. Under the conditions of an own study, investigating material of a progeny testing station, untypically, one third of the loins with higher-than-average wateriness were red rather than pale, and one third of the loins with higher-than-average brightness were only slightly exudative, which is untypical too. Pork with higher-than-average brightness and low wateriness exhibited, apart from the colour deviation, no crucial disadvantages. It showed only a marginally higher loss during storage, thawing and heating. Pork with higher-than-average drip loss - regardless of dark or pale colour - was predominantly combined with a pH(1) less than 6.2, an electrical conductivity 24 h p.m. higher than 5.0 and a loin area higher than 56 cm(2).

Aujeszky's disease (AD) manifested itself in both German states in 1960. Owing to the historical development, in the subsequent two decades, the development of the disease and of its control in the Western and Eastern parts of Germany went different ways. This article describes differences and particularities in the development of AD in Germany leading to the establishment of a national AD eradication programme after re-unification of the two German states at the beginning of the last decade. The basic principles of the German AD eradication programme are described, and the results of 10 years of efforts to control the disease are presented and discussed. Without any doubt, as in other European countries, implementation of the national eradication programme resulted in a considerable progress in the eradication of AD. Since the eradication programme has been established in 1989, particularly in West Germany, the number of AD outbreaks has decreased steadily from about 2000 cases in 1987 to 0 cases recorded in 2001. Recently, Germany has been declared as officially AD-free by the European Commission.

The workshop of the European Commission and the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the European Union (CIAA) held in March 2006 in Brussels, Belgium, discussed the key knowledge and achievements in the mitigation of acrylamide. This paper presents the progress made by the potato sector and identifies areas for future research. Because of the important contribution of potato products to acrylamide intake, it is an area that has received much attention. The discovery of the method of formation and the role of reducing sugars meant that long-standing knowledge in respect of sugar and fry colour could be used to identify methods of mitigation. Improvement in parameters such as (1) potato variety, (2) potato storage temperature, (3) process control (thermal input, pre-processing), (4) final preparation, and (5) colour have all contributed to a significant overall reduction in the average acrylamide content in French fries and potato crisps (termed 'chips' in the USA). There is evidence that the limit of reduction that these measures can offer for crisps has now been approached, but clearly more can be done for French fries and roasted potato products. The use of asparaginase offers potentially significant reduction in certain prefabricated potato products. More research is required into new potato varieties and the agronomical factors that influence the levels of asparagine and sugars in potatoes.

Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease that causes a heavy burden on societies. Namibia, a country in southern Africa, is aiming at controlling the disease in its main reservoir, the domestic dog. To facilitate the implementation comprehensive information on the ecology and epidemiology of the disease and surveillance is of utmost importance. The study presented assesses the baseline data for both human and animal rabies surveillance in Namibia in recent times and establishes correlations with ecological and socio-economic data in order to provide an up-to-date picture on the epidemiology of rabies in Namibia. For instance, it was important to identify the main drivers in the epidemiology, and whether the control strategy by mass vaccination of dogs is undermined by cycles of rabies in wildlife. Rabies in humans was reported mainly from the Northern Communal Areas (NCAs), with a total of 113 cases from 2011 to 2017, representing an incidence of between 1.0 and 2.4 annual human rabies deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. Kavango, the region with the highest human rabies incidence was also the region with the lowest animal rabies surveillance intensity. Generally, the vast majority (77%) of dog samples originated from communal farm land, followed by urban areas (17%), while only a small fraction (3%) was submitted from freehold farm areas. In contrast, kudu and eland submissions were almost exclusively from freehold farmland (76%) and urban areas (19%), whereas the submission of cattle samples was evenly distributed among freehold farms (46%) and communal farm land (46%). The likelihood of sample submission decreased exponentially with distance to one of the two laboratories. Overall, 67% (N = 1,907) of all samples submitted tested rabies-positive, with the highest positivity rate observed in kudus (89%) and jackals (87%). The transmission cycle of rabies in dogs appears restricted to the northern communal areas of Namibia, whilst rabies in wildlife species is predominately reported from farmland in central Namibia, mostly affecting kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) and livestock with a likely reservoir in wildlife canids such as jackals or bat-eared foxes. The analysis confirms the presence of two independent transmission cycles in Namibia with little geographic overlap, thus allowing for a sustainable control of rabies in dogs in the NCAs.

The paper investigates theoretically and empirically the role of courts for contract enforcement in transition agriculture.In a survey of 306 Polish hog farmers conducted in 1999, only 38.5% of them reported to believe that they could use courts to enforce contracts with their most important customer.Furthermore, those who believe the legal system could be used would accept significant financial losses before taking action.We develop a theoretical model, based on the costs and benefits of court enforcement, which captures the boundary between contracts to be regarded as "enforceable" and "not-enforceable" and, simultaneously, the threshold of taking legal action.The empirical analysis strongly supports our model: (1) the farmers' responds can be explained by cost-benefit calculations regarding the use of courts, (2) the legal "enforceability" of contracts depends not only on the efficiency of the legal system, but also on the attributes of the transaction, the contracts and the relationship between buyer and seller, and (3) the threshold of taking legal action is significantly influenced by indirect costs of court enforcement, such as the disruption of a valuable relationship, and by the availability of alternative enforcement mechanisms.

An Expert Meeting on The Current Scientific and Legal Status of Alternative Methods to the LD50 Test for Botulinum Neurotoxin (BoNT) Potency Testing was organised by the Centre for Documentation and Evaluation of Alternatives to Animal Experiments (ZEBET) at the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), and took place on 27-28 April 2009, in Berlin, Germany. The goal of ZEBET is to promote primarily the replacement of legally required animal experiments with valid alternative test methods, to reduce the numbers of test animals used to the absolutely necessary level, and to alleviate their pain and suffering. ZEBET's tasks are the documentation, assessment and promotion of alternative methods to animal experiments on a national and international level, and the initiation of research and development, including the funding of smaller research projects.

During Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 311, the third-generation advanced piston corer temperature (APCT-3) tool, a new downhole tool to determine in situ formation temperatures while piston coring, was successfully tested and deployed for the first time.Its development was partly driven by the need to replace the advanced piston corer temperature tools, which were lost or damaged during many successful deployments over the last 15 y.Additionally, many important scientific problems require instruments having greater stability, accuracy, measurement frequency, and robustness than were available in the past.During all nine deployments during Expedition 311, the APCT-3 tool proved to be robust, reliable, and user-friendly regarding its mechanics, electronics, and operation software.In addition, the test deployments also provided temperature data that were important for achieving expedition objectives.Moreover, it was demonstrated that the APCT-3 tool is capable of measuring temperatures with a resolution and absolute accuracy (depending on careful calibration) of ~1 mK at a sampling interval of 1 s, an improvement of about one order of magnitude compared to earlier instrumentation.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses serious challenges to the healthcare systems worldwide. Multiple factors and activities contribute to the development and spread of antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms. Monitoring progress in combating AMR is fundamental at both global and national levels to drive multisectoral actions, identify priorities, and coordinate strategies. Since 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) has collected data through the Tracking AMR Country Self-Assessment Survey (TrACSS). TrACSS data are published in a publicly-available database. In 2023, 71 (59.9%) out of 177 responding countries reported the existence of a monitoring and evaluation plan for their National Action Plan (NAP) on AMR, and just 20 countries (11.3%) the allocation of funding to support NAP implementation. Countries reported challenges including limited financial and human resources, lack of technical capacity, and variable political commitment. Even across the Group of Seven (G7) countries, which represent some of the world's most advanced economies, many areas still need improvement, such as full implementation of infection prevention and control measures, adoption of WHO access/watch/reserve (AWaRe) classification of antibiotics, effective integration of laboratories in AMR surveillance in the animal health and food safety sectors, training and education, good manufacturing and hygiene practices in food processing, optimising pesticides use and environmental residues of antimicrobial drugs. Continuous and coordinated efforts are needed to strengthen multisectoral engagement to fight AMR.

Achieving and maintaining global food security is challenged by changes in population, income, and climate, among other drivers. Assessing these challenges and possible solutions over the coming decades requires a rigorous multidisciplinary approach. To answer this challenge, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has developed a system of linked simulation models of global agriculture to do long-run scenario analysis of the effects of climate change and various adaptation strategies. This system includes the core International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT), which is linked to water models (global hydrology, water basin management, and water stress on crops) and crop simulation models. The Global Futures and Strategic Foresight program, a CGIAR initiative led by IFPRI in collaboration with other CGIAR research centers, is working to improve these tools and conducting ex ante assessments of promising technologies, investments, and policies under alternative global futures. Baseline projections from IMPACT set the foundation with the latest outlook on long-term trends in food demand and agricultural production based on projected changes in population, income, technology, and climate. On top of the baseline, scenarios are developed for assessing the impacts of promising climate-adapted technologies for maize, wheat, rice, potatoes, sorghum, groundnut, and cassava on yields, area, production, trade, and prices in 2050 at a variety of scales. Yield gains from adoption of the selected technologies vary by technology and region, but are found to be generally comparable in scale to (and thus able to offset) the adverse effects of climate change under a high-emissions representative concentration pathway (RCP 8.5). Even more important in this long-term climate change scenario are effects of growth in population, income, and investments in overall technological change, highlighting the importance of linked assessment of biophysical and socioeconomic drivers to better understand climate impacts and responses. For all crops in the selected countries, climate change impacts are negative with the baseline technology. All new technologies have beneficial effects on yields under climate change, with combined traits (drought and heat tolerance) showing the greatest benefit

Abstract Aims Obesity is an increasing problem, even in young women of reproductive age. Obesity has a negative impact on conception, the course of pregnancy, and neonatal outcomes. Caring for obese pregnant women is becoming an increasingly important aspect of standard prenatal care. This guideline aims to improve the care offered to obese pregnant women. Methods This S3-guideline was compiled following a systemic search for evidence and a structured process to achieve consensus. Recommendations Evidence-based recommendations for the care of obese pregnant women were developed, which cover such as areas as preconception counselling, identification of risks, special aspects of prenatal care and prenatal diagnostic procedures, intrapartum management, and long-term effects on mother and child.

Abstract Triticale ( Triticum durum × Secale ) has been investigated as an unusual cereal for new types of extruded foodstuffs. High‐pressure, high‐temperature short‐time extrusion cooking of whole‐grain cereals causes the formation of different volatiles, some of which have characteristic flavour notes. Combined sensorial‐analytical techniques such as GC‐sniffing analysis and instrumental‐analytical methods (GC‐MS) have been used for identification of the powerful flavour substances. Two main groups of volatile substances have been identified: firstly compounds originating from the lipids of the germ by oxidation processes (e.g. hexenal, hexanol); secondly pyrazines formed by reactions of proteins and starch. Until now there are only a few reports on the volatiles formed by extrusion cooking available in the literature. By comparison with flavour compounds of fresh bread, some substances which are possibly precursors of bread flavour have been identified and characterized.

Die Politikstrategie Bioökonomie baut auf der Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie der Bundesregierung auf. Sie ist eng verzahnt mit der 2010 beschlossenen „Nationalen Forschungsstrategie Bioökonomie 2030 - Unser Weg zu einer biobasierten Wirtschaft", die die Grundlagen für Innovationen in der Bioökonomie durch Forschung und Entwicklung legt. Im „Energiekonzept für eine umweltschonende und bezahlbare Energieversorgung“ (2010), in der „Rohstoffstrategie“ (2010), im „Deutschen Ressourceneffizienzprogramm“ (2012), in der „Roadmap Bioraffinerien“ (2012) sowie in anderen Strategien und Konzepten der Bundesregierung sind weitere politische Ausrichtungen und Festlegungen mit direkter Auswirkung auf die Bioökonomie beschrieben.Die <em>Politikstrategie Bioökonomie</em> setzt Prioritäten für ein Fortschreiten in Richtung einer wissensbasierten Bioökonomie und zeigt Handlungsbedarf auf. Die Leitgedanken, strategischen Ansätze und Maßnahmen sollen dazu beitragen, die Potenziale der Bioökonomie in Deutschland im Rahmen eines nachhaltigen Wirtschaftens zu nutzen und helfen den Strukturwandel hin zu einer biobasierten Wirtschaft zu stärken. Die strategischen Ansätze sind mit Blick auf die langfristigen Ziele weiterzuentwickeln und an neue Herausforderungen anzupassen. Der Erfolg der Strategie soll im Rahmen eines Fortschrittsberichts untersucht werden.

ABSTRACT The objective of this research was to determine the possibility of using fluid whey in frankfurter formulations and to observe its effects on the textural properties of frankfurter‐type sausages. For this purpose, fluid whey substituted for ice used in sausages was manufactured and their textural characteristics were measured. Results of this research showed that liquid whey could be substituted for up to 100% of the ice in frankfurter formulations. For example, similar or more desirable emulsion stability and textural and color properties were obtained in comparison with the control group that contained no whey. For example, % jelly deposit and fat separation were significantly ( P &lt; 0.05) lower in 25% whey‐replaced groups. Again, a higher chewiness and elasticity but lower brittleness and hardness values were measured in no whey‐containing control groups compared with the 50, 75 and 100% fluid whey‐substituted sausages, and the highest redness ( a* ) value was with the 75 and 100% whey‐replaced samples. Therefore, utilization of liquid whey in comminuted meat products offers an enormous economic advantage and potential to fortify and improve functionality of processed meat products. In this way, the drying or condensing expenses as well as environmental concerns for disposing over surplus whey could also be eliminated.

The <em>Policy Strategy - Bioeconomy</em> builds upon the Federal Government's Sustainability Strategy. This dovetails with the "National Research Strategy Bioeconomy 2030 – our route towards a biobased economy", adopted in 2010, providing the foundation for innovations in the bioeconomy by means of research and development. The "Energy Concept for an Environmentally Sound, Reliable and Affordable Energy Supply" (2010), the "Raw Materials Strategy" (2010), the "German Resource Efficiency Programme" (2012), the "Biorefineries Roadmap" (2012), in addition to other strategies and concepts formulated by the Federal Government, describe further points of policy orientation and conclusions with a direct effect on the bioeconomy.The <em>Policy Strategy - Bioeconomy</em> sets priorities for advancing towards a knowledge-based bioeconomy and it highlights areas that require action. The aim is for the guidingprinciples, strategic approaches and measures to contribute to making use of the areas of potential for the bioeconomy in Germany, and also help to strengthen the structural transition to a biobased economy. The strategic approaches are to be further developed to match the long-term goals and to adapt to new challenges. The degree of success achieved by the strategy is to be examined in a Progress Report.

Abstract We studied the differentiation of North American squash bee (Apidae: Apiformes) populations by using geometric wing morphometry to evaluate hypotheses for the origin and possible expansion route of bees after the dispersal of their Cucurbita floral hosts. Two hypotheses consider the possible impact of early human cultures on the distribution of this mutualistic species complex: 1) the geographic range of the bees naturally expanded after the hypsithermal range expansion of the wild buffalo gourd, Cucurbita foetidissima Kunth; or 2) the bees shifted to mesophytic gourds of the C. pepo group at the Mexican Gulf coast and tracked the cultivation and/or trade by early human hunter-gatherer societies in the context of fishing technology along stream valleys to northeastern America. We morphometrically measured 228 specimens of Peponapis pruinosa (Say) collected at 15 sites between Mississippi and Ontario, Canada. Twenty-three landmarks were taken from the right forewings. The resulting measurements were analyzed by multivariate statistics. Our results support the first hypothesis of a western origin of North American squash bee populations and a mainly natural range expansion during the hypsithermal range expansion of the buffalo gourd.

Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) once was a common fish in German rivers. In the course of the industrial revolution the water quality decreased, the rivers were straightened and gradually fragmented by weirs and dams. As a consequence the salmon populations drastically decreased and finally became extinct by the middle of the last century. About 20 years later, in 1978, the first salmon was released in an attempt to re-establish this valuable species. Today re-introduction programmes are running at all former important salmon rivers, namely at the rivers Rhine, Ems, Weser, Elbe as well as some smaller rivers. This contribution provides a short overview on the status of these re-introductions, the success stories as well as the drawbacks of salmon re-introduction in German rivers.

ABSTRACT Light hydrocarbon solvent was used to produce bitumen from Cold Lake oilsand in three dimensional scaled physical modeling experiments. Injection ofthe gas was carried out through a horizontal well until the bottom holepressure was slightly above the saturation pressure at model temperature.Production of diluted bitumen followed the injection cycle through the samehorizontal well until pressure in the reservoir was depleted slightly below thesaturation pressure at model temperature. At that pressure liquid productionrates were very low. In some of the experiments with ethane gas, pressure inthe model varied between 3.2 and 4.0 MPa, which is near the Cold Lake reservoirpressure. This favorable physical property of ethane was offset by a smallerimprovement in product quality as compared to that from tests with propane. The results of these experiments show that the production rate of bitumenassuming a gravity drainage drive mechanism with a single horizontal wellcyclic process was significantly higher than what could be expected from themolecular diffusion rate of solvent into the bitumen, indicating that othermechanisms, probably solvent dispersion or fingering, are important in the masstransfer of solvent into the bitumen. Reasonable efficiency and effectivenessof ethane as solvent were achieved, resulting in a small loss of solvent andlow solvent to bitumen replacement ratio in the experiments. Based on the measurement of the residual oil saturation along the wellbore, full utilization of the horizontal well was not achieved in the model tests.Production enhancements would be expected if this technical deficiency could beovercome. INTRODUCTION Half of the original bitumen in place in Imperial Oil's leases at Cold Lake, Alberta is located either in bottom water reservoirs or water sensitive sandswhich are not amenable to exploitation by steam based processes. A potentialalternative for these reservoirs is a solvent based process which has been thesubject of laboratory investigations by a number of researchers [1–9] in recentyears. The advantages of the solvent based processes are: little heat loss andlimited water handling, the disadvantage are: high solvent cost and inherentlylow production rate limited by mass transfer of the solvent into thebitumen.

Wildlife may host pathogens and chemicals of veterinary and public health relevance, as well as pathogens with significant economic relevance for domestic livestock. In conducting research on the occurrence and distribution of these agents in wildlife, a major challenge is the acquisition of a sufficient number of samples coupled with efficient use of manpower and time. The aim of this article is to present the methodology and output of a sampling approach for game animals, which was implemented from 2017/18 to 2020/21 at drive hunts in Brandenburg, Germany. The central element was a framework agreement with the BImA, whereby federal forest officials and other hunters collected most of the samples during field dressing. Further samples of game carcasses were obtained by scientists during subsequent gathering at a collection point. Altogether, 3185 samples from 938 wild ungulates of four species were obtained for various studies analysing-in this case-food-borne agents in game animals. Sampling was representative and reflected the proportional distribution of ungulate species hunted in Brandenburg. Hunting district and hunting season strongly influenced hunting bag and hence sampling success. This sampling approach was demonstrated to be a suitable basis for monitoring programs, that can be adapted to other regions.

Investments in international agricultural research have proven very successful at an aggregated level over the past decades. Decision makers, however, face the tough question of how best to allocate limited public funds across increasingly diverse research areas to achieve the largest impacts. Simultaneously, donors demand more accountability from research institutions with regards to use of funds and resulting impacts on food and nutrition security, the environment, gender equality and poverty reduction. From 2012-2014, the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) undertook a systematic, quantitative ex-ante priority assessment across five key crops to inform its strategic research portfolio decisions. In-depth studies were conducted for cassava, banana, potato, sweetpotato, and yams with a harmonized methodological framework. The assessments comprised: 1) elicitation of major production constraints and research opportunities through global expert surveys; 2) identification of priority research interventions; 3) ex ante estimation of costs and benefits for two adoption scenarios using partial equilibrium economic surplus models; and 4) poverty impact simulations. Results suggest substantial, although variable benefits for all assessed potential research investments and provide a range of impact indicators (adoption area, number of beneficiaries, net present value, internal rate of return, and poverty reduction). The findings have since informed the research portfolio development of RTB and were critical for continued program funding in the second phase. This paper presents the methodology and results and then focuses on the policy implications and lessons learned to strengthen future priority assessments in agricultural research.