Food-poisoning is a major health problem and an estimated half a million Swedes are food-poisoned annually, with acute gastroenteritis as a consequence. One of the major causes of contaminated foods is related to food- and waterborne viruses. To be able to trace back the source of contaminant, the method of detecting viruses must be specific and sensitive. No standardized method for detecting foods for sapovirus exists today. The aim of the work described in this bachelor thesis is to implement and opti-mize a real-time RT-PCR method for the detection of all genogroups of human sapovirus in foods.

One of the main objectives of all food production is to produce foods that can safely beconsumed without fear of being sick. Despite this hundreds of people are affected in Sweden offood poisoning almost every day. Most cases are caused by a small group of so-called pathogenicmicroorganisms. The most frequently affected are the small children, the elderly, persons withreduced resistance and pregnant. The reasons behind the food poisoning are often ignorance andlack of food hygiene.

Aims The aim of this study was to investigate how personnel within food control are regarded from different perspectives and to find the answers to the sub questions:- what is included in the profession of food control?- what are the requirements for personnel within the profession of food control?- how is the profession perceived from different perspectives?- how do personnel within the profession of food control estimate their psycho social working conditions?Method The study included 68 individuals (34 female and 34 male) and was conducted via observations, web-based surveys and survey-based interviews. Conclusion - The study was feasible.- The overall goal of the study as well as the research questions were answered to and contributed to clarify what is included in the profession of food control. - Quality measures should be implemented to greater extent within the development of the national food control system..

Background: Over the past 30 years the incidence of overweight and obesity has increased. Obesity is a risk factor for many diseases, for instance type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, many types of cancer and musculoskeletal diseases. That ready available food today is so accessible can be a reason for the public health problems of overweight and obesity.Objective: The aim was to study what possibilities and barriers there are for fast-food restaurants to sell healthy food.Methods: Information was collected by seven telephone interviews and two respondents answered by e-mail. Nine persons that were in charge of the menu at different fast-food restaurant chains in Sweden participated in the study.Results: To have a large variety was considered to be a problem for selling healthy food, also because the sale of it was low in some of the fast-food chains. Some of the informants did not find any problems with selling healthy food and it was regarded as an opportunity to get more consumers.Conclusion: The demand for healthier food has increased, and the offer and sales of it has also escalated.

Sustainability Reporting has emerged and transformed over the past decades as a voluntary practice by companies across industries that desire to show proof of good conduct and environmental; social; and economic responsibility. As industrial food production is one of the largest contributors to contemporary environmental problems, it might be expected that reporting within the industry would be both well established and well understood. Unfortunately, it is neither. In light of the food industry?s considerable environmental impact and the growing popularity of plant-based food as a more sustainable alternative to dairy products, this paper assesses and briefly discusses the Sustainability Reporting of two companies in the plant-based food and beverage industry. The research was designed to compare the practices of Europe-based Alpro and US-based SoDelicious, and this study has two major purposes: to describe the reporting of the case companies and to subsequently compare their practices to the other as well as to global reporting standards. The empirical study in this paper was conducted through content analysis.

Med genteknik är det möjligt att ändra gensammansättningen i våra livsmedel och applikationen har väckt stort intresse, inte minst bland allmänheten. Genmodifierade (GM) livsmedel har varit föremål för diskussion sedan 1970-talet. Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera olika uppfattningar och representationer om genmodifierade livsmedel. Enligt teorin om sociala representationer har representationer dubbla funktioner. Den ena är att konventionalisera objekt och den andra innebär att representationerna intar en förutbestämd form.

The aim of this essay is to analyze how food and meals produce and reproduce values and power relations and how these processes are portrayed in Virginia Woolf?s To the Lighthouse. Using sociological writings in the field of food consumption and production I study the structures that affect our relation to food and eating. This perspective is combined with a phenomenological view, aiming to examine how food is perceived, which is also inspired by queer theories. Using the method of close reading, the theories are applied to Woolf?s work.

To achieve the Government's milestones for 2018, which means that 50 % of food waste shall be separated from household waste and undergo biological treatment (composting or anaerobic digestion).   Hultsfred, Högsby and Vimmerby are three adjacent municipalities of Kalmar, county Småland. During 2012 and 2013 analyzes were performed on their household waste to determine its composition. The household waste is currently collected in one fraction. The work, examines how much food waste the household waste contains. From the amount of food waste, the biogas potential is examined - how much food waste biogas generates and how much energy it corresponds to.   Food waste is broken down by microorganisms under anaerobic conditions (anaerobic digestion) in a biogas plant.

How to motivate yourself to learn has always been an area of interest, gamification has become a way of capturing and enhancing ones motivation. But how should the learning applications be designded to maximize the users motivation? This paper adresses wether Yu-Kai Chous framework Octalysis, is applicable on learning applications. The study is conducted by using a modified set of heuristics that are applied to the evaluated applications to gather data that is then used to evaluate the framework. The paper concludes that the framework can be used to evaluate learning applications but it should be modified to improve the results.

In December 2008 the municipal council in Nybro, decided that the municipality shouldreduce the budget for food service. The budget should be reduced by 2 100 000 SEK.They decided that the children- and education committee, and the care committee would haveto lower their budget with 1 264 000 SEK respectively 636 000 SEK. The change have to bedone under two years, 60 % should be done under 2009 and 40 % under 2010.As a result of the decision, many kitchens have to become kitchens that only serve food, notcook it. This will result in preschool staff and nursing staff take over some of the tasks fromthe kitchen staff. The municipal council also decided that entrepreneurs could take over one(later two) cooking areas.A kitchen that serves food means that there isn?t any cooking involved.

In our everyday life we are faced with many choices that have consequences on the environment. One of these is the food we choose to eat since food production has a big impact on the environment. In organic production the aim is to have a natural production process, where environmental impacts are minimized. By choosing organic food it is therefore possible to contribute to a better environment. A large number of meals are served every day in the public sector, which makes it an important player in the consumer sector that could make a major difference for the environment..

An organisation in Skåne, Miljösamverkan Skåne, presented a project in 2011 concerning food labeling. All municipalities in Skåne, audited certain products in several stores, in order to determine if they were labeled correctly according to law. Stores who produced their own food where also audited. As Swedes generally have an interest in buying and cooking food from different countries, the demand is increasing, which makes stores provide the customers with a large range of different products to accommodate the demand. This essay will discuss the results of the project and how incorrect food labeling can affect human health.

 The food-safety legislation in Sweden were changed and updated in 1996, much because of demands from the European Union for a common legislation regarding the food-safety issues in the EU. This report discusses how the Swedish authorities are dealing with the new legislation in Sweden. Further on the report presents how the food safety officers in the municipalities in Sweden are implementing this new legislation in their daily work, especially the requirements regarding the HACCP, Hazard Analysis Control and Checkpoints. The report shows that the implementation is quite slow and that many foodsafety-officers don?t implement the legislation in the same way all over the country.

Launching and marketing a health food product is associated with larger problems than a launch of a traditional food product. There are several sales channels that can be used for a health food product, for example the product can be sold as a traditional food product, natural health food product or as a prescription drug. A smaller company can however experience problems while launching its product as a prescription drug because of the large costs associated with this particular sales channel. There is often no other alternative than to launch the product as a traditional food product, this can however create other problems because of the existing regulations on what can and cannot be mentioned in the marketing of a health food product. The limited amount of information about the product that can be enclosed together with it makes it hard for a company to differentiate and position it on the market.

The aim of this study was to investigate how the process of implementing a quality management system for food safety was handled in four different food producing companies in Sweden. The aim was also to analyze what difficulties the companies face and the possibilities that arise when certified. Furthermore, the reason for implementation was discussed as well as the main expectations on the certificate. Implementing a quality management system is a good way of ensuring the quality and hygiene of the food production and it also increases the traceability of food products through the whole food chain. A food safety standard provides a method of preventing problems and crisis and it can also help to handle requirements from authorities, the market and others.