Over the past few years, it seemed like there were announcements about food illness outbreaks and recalls on a daily basis. While there were some disruptions in announcements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the pace of recall announcements nonetheless seems to be accelerating, not slowing. For the general public (but not for those of us in the food safety business), the constant stream of these announcements in the media has likely caused many to doubt the safety of their food.
Yet, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other food safety experts insist—and the data support their assertions—that food illness outbreaks are getting smaller and affecting far fewer people, and that our food is becoming safer every day. How can this be the case? How can more outbreaks equal fewer illnesses and safer food? Blame this dichotomy on whole-genome sequencing (WGS).