Making sure people have food to eat is a vital factor in social and economic life. However, strategies to secure the food supply chain are having to become more rigorous as globalisation progresses apace. One issue that has to be contended with, for example, is the higher risk of animal-to-human diseases spreading across the globe. Major incidents and natural disasters can also have a detrimental impact on our food supply. To help find answers, the BMBF funded research projects that sought to tackle these complex challenges and drew up strategies on an interdisciplinary basis to prevent or manage the problems.

In an export nation such as Germany, a secure supply and unhindered transport of goods are vital for society and industry. In recognition of this fact, the joint projects described below focus on the development of solutions designed to secure production and logistics processes against failure.

Operational utility infrastructures are vital for society and industry. With that in mind, this research area examines security scenarios in which critical supply infrastructures (for power, water or food, for example) are under threat or affected by attacks, major incidents or natural disasters. Key areas of funding are research into the prevention and early identification of threats, the prevention of cascade effects, crisis management through timely and efficient security and disconnection measures and the development of an effective emergency supply service.

Millions of people use Germany’s stations, airports, underground systems and roads every day. Transport systems are the lifelines of our society yet they can be thrown out of kilter by extreme weather conditions, terrorism or major accidents. To minimise that risk, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research funds projects in the field of “Protection of transport infrastructures.” The solutions developed include technologies for specific modes of transport, organisational measures and services as well as fundamental aspects relating to acceptance, ethics and data protection. The project teams comprise all of the stakeholders relevant to the solution in question, with members representing academia, industry, end users, operators of transport companies, emergency service personnel and security authorities.

The joint projects presented in this section focus on the development of systems for detecting biological or chemical and explosive substances and the ways in which terahertz technology might be used to find weapons and hazardous substances. The research topics range from early detection of biological pathogens and other harmful contaminants (in drinking water supply systems, for instance) to detection of traces of explosives (during airport luggage checks, for example).