Research into safe human foods without using animals
To what extent are the components of the foods we eat safe, healthy and digestible? This question has to be answered before products are put to market. Wageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR) is already able to replace 80% of the animal tests used in its food research by other methods.
Computers and mini organs
WFSR researches whether humans can develop allergic reactions to certain proteins in foods, for instance. Instead of using animal testing, this can now also be assessed well using computer models. These models can check whether a food contains certain components similar to known allergens. To research the effects of substances, WFSR also uses organoids. These are synthetic mini organs that mimic the mouth, stomach or intestine.
European study on animal-free methods
WFSR is also participating in a large-scale European study into animal-free methods for testing the effects of substances on the human hormone system. Such methods will be able to prevent thousands of tests on animals in the future.
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