Terms of Usage

The Core Facility Food & Bio Processing (CF FBP) ...

... offers research and development services as well as trainings related to process design, pilot-scale sample production as well as product quality and microbiological analyses of food and bio-based materials.

The infrastructure and services are available to all interested scientific staff (BOKU and external) as well as companies. To start any new project, please contact the person responsible for the service area of interest (see Communication) to discuss the possibilities available and instructions on how to order service. Users are encouraged to have some initial information ready, such as previous attempts, papers that show results similar to those the user would like to obtain, and - last but not least - a clear idea of what one would like to see and what question one would like to answer. We will then evaluate the feasibility of your request and align on available infrastructure, consumables, staff and analytical resources. 

All activities on the premises of the BOKU Core Facility Food & Bio Processing (pilot plant, laboratories, etc.) are subject to the following rules:

• The BOKU CF FBP only offers “full service mode” to external clients. This implies that all trials at the facilities must be accompanied by BOKU staff.
• Usage times as well as used consumables will be logged, using appropriate measures (e.g. logbook, excel sheets, etc.)
• Cancellations within 24 hours before start of scheduled services have to be made either personally or by phone, emailing does not guarantee that the CF FBP staff receives the information in time. Unused instrument time has to be cancelled. If not cancelled, the booked instrument time will be charged.
• The CF FBP reserves the right to cancel or postpone bookings (also on short notice) when maintenance or repair of instruments or machines is necessary or in case of staff shortage of relevant CF FBP members. In this case, all affected users will be informed by the CF FBP at the earliest possibility. Preventive maintenance will be scheduled to minimize impact on usage.
• All individuals entering the BOKU Core Facility Food & Bio Processing must read, accept, and follow the safety notes (download).
• Instructions by staff members of the BOKU Core Facility Food & Bio Processing, the Department of Food Science and Technology, as well as the BOKU itself, have to be followed at all times.
• Unattended work is prohibited.
• Self-initiated operation of machines and laboratory equipment is only allowed subsequent to extensive training by BOKU staff.
• All irregularities and noticeable problems have to be communicated to BOKU staff immediately
• Use of the CF FBP services and infrastructure is restricted to biological material that is classified as safety level S1 (no infectious or hazardous material)
• All samples and reagents that are brought to the CF FBP by users must be clearly labelled with a designation of the compound, the name of the user and the date. In case these samples contain hazardous chemicals, appropriate GHS hazard pictograms have to be attached to the sample container. Corresponding stickers can be obtained from the CF FBP staff. For reasons of safety and cleanliness, unlabeled samples will be discarded by the CF FBP staff without advance warning. 

• All (biological) samples (and disposables which they came in contact with) must be discarded in corresponding bins. Microbiological samples have to be disposed in specific containers, carrying a biohazard symbol (see below) and consequently have to be autoclaved.
• Dirty lab ware (bottles, beakers etc.) as well as pilot plan utensils have to be placed on designated trays or a corresponding dishwasher. Labels have to be removed.

Any material to be analyzed at the CF FBP or provided to the CF FBP staff must be of good quality. We ask the user to evaluate monodispersity/homogeneity of the sample and have accurately determined the concentration before requesting services. The CF FBP does not take any responsibility for negative results arising from low quality or errors present in the material given to the facility. For assistance with evaluation of sample quality, please contact the CF FBP staff. Additional characterization of user-provided samples necessary to perform the requested service may result in additional costs. In case you need support or assistance with regard to sample quality testing, do not hesitate to talk to CF FBP staff.

Raw data generated at the CF FBP instruments and machines will be stored on the respective instrument control computers. Please note, that these computers are backed up solely before the annual preventative maintenance service. Therefore, it is the responsibility of users to transfer their own data immediately after their experiments are finished! Data transfer options are e.g.: drive.boku.ac.at, netstorage.boku.ac.at, or BOKU Box. If assistance is needed in this respect, please contact CF FBP staff!

An individual quotation will be provided upon request. Prices are subject to change.

Mailing

To request service or training, please email

FBP(at)boku.ac.at (general requests)

or

felix.schottroff(at)boku.ac.at

henry.jaeger(at)boku.ac.at

Feedback and Evaluation

Users are highly encouraged to give feedback about the performance of the facility or suggestions for improvement at any time to the head of the CF FBP.

Communication

If users present data obtained within the CF FBP (publications or oral/poster presentations), they must acknowledge the facility. Citing the facility in the acknowledgements is the only way we can track the impact of our services. We would appreciate receiving a copy of all publications for which the CF FBP infrastructure was used. If users need help with preparing a manuscript using data generated via the CF FBP services (e.g. presentation of data or description of the methodology), please contact the CF FBP staff. Good scientific practice demands that members of the facility who have contributed intellectually to a publication will be considered as co-authors.

Possible variant for acknowledgements:

"We thank [Name of person] for conducting [Name of experiment/processes/analyses]. The equipment was kindly provided by the EQ-BOKU VIBT GmbH and the BOKU Core Facility Food & Bio Processing."

In case the core facility staff member is listed as author:

"The [Name of Equipment] was kindly provided by the EQ-BOKU VIBT GmbH and the BOKU Core Facility Food & Bio Processing."