Tenure-track Assistant Professor Mohamed Fathi Abdallah from the Department of Food Science (AU FOOD) at Aarhus University has received a prestigious RECRUIT – Grants for International Recruitment grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The grant will support the establishment of a new research line in food toxicology - the study of toxic substances in food and their effects on human health - as well as the creation of the AU FOOD TOX research group.

The project 'ToxiFOOD – Toxin Risks in Novel Food' started in January 2026 and will run for five years. It addresses one of the most pressing challenges in the rapidly growing novel food sector in the European Union. Novel foods are foods or ingredients that have not previously been widely consumed in Europe before May 15th 1997, when the first ’Regulation on Novel Food’ came into force. Examples include new fungal-based ingredients, algae, fermented products, or foods developed using new technologies, and agricultural products from third countries.

Demand for sustainable, plant-based and non-animal food products is increasing rapidly, and food safety assessment frameworks must keep pace with this development. However, there is currently limited knowledge about naturally occurring microbial toxins - toxic substances that can be produced by bacteria or fungi - in plant-based novel foods and dietary supplements. These compounds may pose potential risks to consumers and can delay regulatory approval processes.

The ToxiFOOD project aims to close important knowledge gaps by generating new scientific data and developing improved methods to quickly detect and measure microbial toxins in non-animal novel foods.

Mohamed Fathi Abdallah’s research combines advanced analytical chemistry - techniques used to identify and measure chemical substances in food - with in vitro toxicology, where the effects of substances are studied in laboratory-grown cells rather than in humans or animals, and risk assessment, which evaluates how harmful substances may be to consumers.

By combining targeted analyses (which look for specific known toxins) with untargeted analyses (which broadly screen samples to detect also previously unknown compounds), together with advanced biological testing platforms, ToxiFOOD will generate new knowledge that can support regulators, the food industry, and policymakers.

Through the RECRUIT grant, Mohamed Fathi Abdallah will establish the AU FOOD TOX research group, strengthening Aarhus University’s capacity in research on toxic substances in food and the assessment of risks from unwanted contaminants. The initiative will also contribute to a stronger interdisciplinary research environment and support AU FOOD’s work towards safe and sustainable food systems.

Mohamed Fathi Abdallah
Tenure-track Assistant Professor, PhD
Department of Food Science, Aarhus University
E-mail: mfa@food.au.dk
Tel: +45 93 50 89 94

Kimie Kongsøre
Journalist & Science Communicator
Department of Food Science, Aarhus University
E-mail: kiko@food.au.dk
Tel: +45 20 84 43 63