The Max Rubner-Institut (MRI) advises the BMLEH in the field of consumer health protection. The scientific advice is provided in the fields of nutrition and food and is based on both basic and applied research. MRI's research covers the areas of quality, safety and authenticity of food, healthy and sustainable nutrition, nutritional and health effects of food on humans and, in particular, the nutrition of life-stage-specific groups in the population, such as children and senior citizens. Of great importance is the overall consideration of the food consumed depending on the degree of processing and over a longer period of time. The mode of action of food ingredients is considered from the molecular and cellular level to the whole organism. Food group-specific departments at the MRI conduct research on food categories such as cereals, fats and oils, milk and fish, fruits and vegetables, and meat. The period under consideration extends from harvesting or production to consumption of the food by humans. The study of nutritional behaviour is also of particular importance. Overall, the results of the research activities are used to derive recommendations for a health-supporting diet.

MRI is responsible for the further development and implementation of the National Nutrition Monitoring and the German Nutrient Database (BLS). It performs sovereign functions under the Agricultural Statistics Act and the Radiation Protection Act. In addition, the National Breastfeeding Commission (NSK) is located at the MRI. As part of the National Reduction and Innovation Strategy for Sugar, Fat, and Salt in Processed Foods (NRI), the BMLEH has commissioned the MRI to conduct product monitoring to determine whether and how the sugar, fat, salt, and energy content of processed foods changes over time.

The MRI cooperates with the departmental research institutions in the portfolio of the BMLEH, especially in nutrition-related studies, in the fields of sustainable agricultural and food systems, digitalization, new crop production systems, plant-based nutrition, biodiversity, nanotechnology, bacteriophages and pathogens (including zoonoses) in the food chain, trans fatty acids, mineral oil components, plant toxins and mycotoxins, among others ergot and ergot alkaloids, in food and raw materials, standardization of analytical methods, and development of minimization strategies for undesirable substances in various foods and products. Another aspect concerns cooperation in the field of food authenticity, e.g. in the case of fish and seafood, in order to combat food fraud. There is also cooperation with the Leibniz Institutes within the remit of the BMLEH.