Food Science and food related research at SLU

Collaborative Centres and similar functions

SLU Future Food is a platform that stimulates and develops cross-disciplinary research and collaboration for economically, ecologically and socially sustainable food systems.

SLU EPOK – SLU Centre for Organic Food and Farming (Epok) works with collaboration, coordination and information on organic agriculture research in a Swedish, Nordic and international perspective.

SLU Centre for Biological Control, CBC contribute to the development of new knowledge concerning the use of living organisms to control pests and diseases.

SLU Centre for Pesticides in the Environment (CKB) is a partnership forum within the area of chemical pesticides for researchers at SLU and interested parties outside the university. The Centre focuses mainly on fate and effects in the environment of pesticides used within agriculture.  The purpose of CKB is to develop knowledge that allows the effects of chemical pesticides on the environment to be described and predicted in a reliable way and that this knowledge shall lead to countermeasures so that the impact on the environment lies within acceptable limits.

SLU Competence Centre for Business Management – KCF. The Business management area aims to develop knowledge and increase awareness of economically and socially sustainable business operations in the green sector (SME), focusing on ‘the business’ and ‘the person in the business’.

The Linnaeus Centre for Plant Biology aims to promote cutting-edge research by providing a meeting place for interdisciplinary research. The centre is a collaboration with Uppsala University.

SLU SCAW is the national centre for animal welfare in Sweden and works nationally and internationally with animal welfare issues.

National Competence Center for Aquaculture is a knowledge portal for Swedish Aquaculture. It is run in collaboration with the University of Gothenburg, with the aim of being responsible for the coordination of research and education as well as the dissemination of knowledge-based information to the aquaculture community. The page is in Swedish.

PlantLink – Plant Research and Higher Education in Southern Sweden aims to integrate basic and applied research with a focus on plants and increase interaction between universities and industry. It is a collaboration with Lund University and Region Skåne.

The Swedish Wildlife Damage Centre (VSC) provides information and education about management of protected wildlife, such as large carnivores and large grazing birds.

The VGR collaboration - SLU and the Västra Götaland region have an extensive collaborative project in research, development and competence provision in the areas of beef and lamb production, precision farming and consultancy.

SustAinimal is a center promoting increased knowledge in the production animals' role for competitive, sustainable and resilient agriculture and food production in Sweden.

Platforms, initiatives and collaboration

AgriFood Economics Center makes qualified socio-economic analyzes in the area of ​​food, agriculture and fisheries as well as rural development on behalf of the government, in collaboration with Lund University.

Agriwise is a service for financial planning in agriculture and horticulture and forestry which is now located at the Swedish Agency for Agriculture. SLU is involved in the development of this service.

SLU EkoForsk has a special mission from the government to improve the knowledge base by allocating research grants for the development of crop cultivation, animal husbandry and fruit, berry and vegetable cultivation in open fields or in greenhouses.

Food Science Sweden (FSS) is a national platform with the aim of strengthening and making Swedish food research visible. It is run in collaboration with other universities and colleges of which SLU is one party.

SLU FältForsk is a joint body created by SLU and other organizations within the agricultural sector. SLU Fältforsk's main objective is to coordinate, develop and secure high quality agricultural field research in Sweden.

SLU Grogrund is tasked with bringing together academia and business and developing skills to ensure access to plant varieties for sustainable and competitive agricultural and horticultural production throughout Sweden.

Interbull center is the operational part of Interbull, which handles the breeding evaluation of bulls from all over the world. The center forms a unit at the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics.

SLU RådNu is a collaboration platform, with its center in Skara, which aims to develop methods for competence and business development, with a particular focus on advice.

FoodTech Links – collaborative initiative between SLU and Lund University/LTH with the aim of connecting the research environments at the universities, with support from Region Skåne.

MeNy – The overall objective of the menu program is to raise the level of knowledge of small and medium-sized food companies by developing and offering company and needs-based skills development measures. Has been developed in collaboration with SIK, Lund University, Umeå University and Linnaeus University.

SLU Partnerskap Alnarp is a collaborative organization between SLU and business, authorities and industry organizations in the southern Swedish region. The aim is to strengthen the competitiveness of the land-based industries and related industry through project development, competence building and research information, as well as to create meeting places.

SLU POM – The Programme for Diversity of Cultivated Plants– is a national effort to better preserve and use our cultural plants. Sweden's Riksdag decided in 2000 that POM would be implemented as a tool to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity.

RJN – Regional jordbruksforskning för norra Sverige is a collaboration around agricultural research and knowledge dissemination in northern Sweden, which is financed by the industry and SLU to promote sustainable and viable agriculture.

SLU Global coordinates, supports and informs about SLU's research, teaching and other activities with the aim of supporting the development of the agricultural area in low-income countries.

Partnership Horticulture is a collaborative project between universities and business with the aim of creating growth and sustainable development in Swedish horticulture. Conditions are created for increased competitiveness and growth through innovations, new thinking and collaborations.

Infrastructures, experimental stations and test beds

At SLU, there is valuable infrastructure that contributes to SLU's uniqueness in the area of ​​food and the development of food systems in Sweden and internationally.

SLU Biotronen – 24 climate chambers with controlled conditions in Alnarp.

The Fisheries Research Station in Älvkarleby– research station for aquaculture with a focus on salmon and trout.

SLU Götala Beef and Lamb Research Centre - located outside Skara, has room for 48 suckler cows alt. 84 young calves and 26 individually kept ewes, in addition 70 ha of arable land and 35 ha of pasture.

SLU Institute of Marine Research has headquarters in Lysekil.

SLU Institute of Coastal Research has headquarters in Öregrund.

SLU Lanna research station is located on the Varaslätten in Västergötland. Here there are 155 ha for experimental cultivation and also about 7 ha for organic cultivation.

SLU Agricultural Long-Term Experiments - cultivations that have been ongoingn for many years, they are located throughout the country. They are used to study how crops, crop rotation and cropping practices affect crop production, crop quality and environmental factors in the long term.

SITES Lönnstorp Research Station southwestern Skåne with 60 ha for cultivation system studies. Some of the area are part of SITES (Swedish Infrastructure for Ecosystem Science, a research infrastructure funded by the Swedish Research Council).

Swedish Livestock Research Centre, SLU Lövsta – A farm outside Uppsala with 300 dairy cows with recruitment, 132 sows and 1000 places for fattening pigs as well as flexible poultry houses for both laying hens (approx. 3300 animals) and broiler chickens (approx. 1000 chicks). The farm has 1,360 ha of cultivated area and 220 ha of pasture, plus 50 ha of pasture outside the barn. There is also a biogas plant and a slaughterhouse directly adjacent to the stables.

SLU Lövsta Field Research Station –runs around 100 agricultural scientific field trials at several locations around Uppsala. The business is concentrated around Funbo Lövsta 10 km east of Uppsala where there are machine halls and storage facilities.

SLU's cultivation facilities - Ultuna's combined infrastructure for plant cultivation with greenhouses, climate chambers, phytotron, etc., Alnarp's horticultural laboratory, greenhouse, biotron, etc.

Röbäcksdalen Field Research Station – research station in Umeå, with 300 ha of fields and pastures and a dairy cow herd of approx. 120 dairy cows. Parts of crop cultivation are included in SITES.

SLU Food Lab – development lab in Alnarp focusing on the basic commodity.

Swedish metabolomics centre is a research platform in collaboration between Umeå University, SLU and Chalmers. The platform is linked to SciLife-lab and offers analysis services to researchers within SLU's entire field of activity as well as to industry.

SLU Grimsö Wildlife Research Station – wildlife and bird research and wildlife monitoring. Included in SITES. SLU Freshwater Laboratory - located at Djursholm (with aquariums and ponds).

The research vessel Asterix – the vessel is mainly used for surveys in Sweden's large lakes.

R/V Svea is SLU's new research vessel that is used for all types of marine research and environmental monitoring.