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Shock for 26 employees: Laboratory in Neubrandenburg will close in 2028!
Closure of the laboratory in Neubrandenburg affects 26 employees: reasons, effects and future prospects in MV.
Shock for 26 employees: Laboratory in Neubrandenburg will close in 2028!
The closure of an important location in Neubrandenburg creates a bad mood among employees and could have far-reaching consequences for food control in the region. According to a statement dated June 24, 2025 by Stephan Goltermann, First Director of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania State Office for Agriculture, Food Safety and Fisheries, the laboratory location at Demminer Straße 46 will be closed in the medium term. A total of 26 employees are affected by this decision, which not only questions their professional future, but also food safety in the region, reports Nordkurier.
The decision is based on the state office’s “current and projected human and financial resources.” The site has a long tradition in the inspection of food, especially in the inspection of milk, dairy products as well as grain and grain products. With the planned changes, departments 350 and 360 are to be implemented in Rostock. The situation is particularly explosive due to the fact that the building was renovated and modernized in 2019. Now the affected employees are facing an uncertain future; many of them have worked in consumer protection their entire lives.
Focus on consumer protection
The loss of this location is seen as a significant setback for Neubrandenburg and the eastern part of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The settlement should be completed by 2028 at the latest - a long journey that requires clear discussions and measures in the next six weeks. While there is a lack of answers from the Ministry of Agriculture in Schwerin, affected employees are skeptical about the closure and fear that it could jeopardize the safety of food in the region.
The importance of food safety cannot be overstated. In Germany, all food sold, including imported products, must be safe. The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) ensures that legal regulations regarding additives, residues and labels are adhered to. Official food monitoring plays a crucial role in checking compliance with the prescribed standards. In 2023, around 458,939 companies will be subject to risk-oriented controls, which corresponds to around 36% of all food processing companies in Germany, as can be read on the BMEL website.
Not only is transparent labeling of food and its ingredients required, new ingredients and products must also meet strict requirements. It is particularly pleasing that maximum values for trans fatty acids in food have been set throughout the EU and that genetically modified foods have had to be labeled accordingly since 2004. Given the current planned closures and the resulting potential food safety challenges, it is even more important that the existing rules continue to be implemented effectively.
The future and preservation of locations like the one in Neubrandenburg are crucial to guarantee consumer protection in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and beyond. It remains to be seen whether the employees will receive support in the coming period and how regional food security can be secured.
For further information and developments on food safety in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the official websites of the state government here and the BMEL here are recommended. The Nordkurier also remains a reliable source for the latest news on the closure of the Neubrandenburg location here.