Johanna Burtscher

Johanna Burtscher is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Food Science, part of the Department of Biotechnology and Food Science at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU). Her work focuses on food microbiology, hygiene, and the prevention of dairy and bread spoilage caused by endospore-forming bacteria.

• PhD in Food Science (BOKU, 2014)
• Master’s in Food Science and Technology (2014)

Research Interests: Burtscher investigates the diversity and impact of spoilage bacteria in dairy and food systems, particularly Clostridium tyrobutyricum (causing late blowing in cheese) and Bacillus species (responsible for rope spoilage in bread). Her research includes methodological innovations for bacterial quantification and characterization.

Publication Trends: Her recent work (2023–2025) emphasizes propionic acid bacteria in raw milk, clostridial spore transmission, and microbial diversity in cheese and bread spoilage. She employs genomic, phenotypic, and environmental analyses to address food safety challenges.

Scientific Awards:

• 2023: Anerkennungspreis für Lehre at BOKU
• 2022: BOKU Best Paper Award (Jubiläumsfonds der Stadt Wien)
• 2021: Dr. Hermann-Zittmayr-Preis for milk and dairy research
• 2020: FEMS Research Grant
• 2018: BOKU Best Paper Award and Austrian Hygiene Prize

Advising & Grants: Burtscher supervised Nicola Pacher’s research on bread spoilage (2022) and contributed to projects involving distributed ledger technology for food supply chain security (NutriSafe). She serves as a reviewer for journals like Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Safety and Frontiers in Microbiology.