A European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) fellowship explores whole genome sequencing (WGS) standardization in outbreak investigations, as well as the use of WGS in monitoring pathogen virulence and antimicrobial resistance.
During the Thursday morning Town Hall at the 2022 Food Safety Summit, top food safety regulators from FDA, USDA, CDC, and AFDO discussed initiatives and advances in food traceability, food safety policy, recalls, pathogen monitoring, food safety culture, and a number of other timely areas.
A dataset on Listeria monocytogenes has been compiled from over 1,400 genomes collected across 19 European nations to better understand the pathogen’s genetic makeup and adaptation in different ecological niches.
A recent study reveals that a significant number of listeriosis cases in Germany were caused by the consumption of smoked or graved salmon that was contaminated by Listeria monocytogenes.
Whole genome sequencing of Enterococcus faecium presents the theoretical possibility of probiotics in swine and cattle production as a source of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS) recently published a study that observed the evolution of certain shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 strains over 23 years.
Breaking Bad News author Jeff Hahn sits down with Food Safety Matters to share insights and tools for successfully navigating crisis communications. Also, Bob Ferguson of Strategic Consulting joins us to discuss his latest Food Safety Insights column, “How WGS Continues to Change Food Safety."
USDA-FSIS and FDA have started to share information on whole genome sequencing. Also, FSIS and CDC are working to enhance data sharing on critically important public health activities.
This column will expand on the findings of the FDA study of the economic evaluation of the GenomeTrakr whole genome sequencing (WGS) program, adding data on the use of sequencing and how it will continue to change food safety practices and markets. It will also discuss what FDA is doing with GenomeTrackr to uncover previously unseen outbreaks and how this is keeping pressure on processors to expand environmental monitoring and controls.
