The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently published a scientific opinion that identified the most relevant persistent microorganisms in food and feed production environments to be Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Cronobacter sakazakii, as well as risk factors and interventions associated with these pathogens.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified a reoccurring, emerging, and persistent (REP) strain of Escherichia coli O157:H7—REPEXH02—that has been implicated in significant foodborne illness outbreaks linked to leafy greens from 2016–2019.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently published a new webpage with information about a persistent, multidrug-resistant strain of Salmonella Infantis known as REPJFX01, which has been the cause of many illnesses and outbreaks.
Using whole genome sequencing (WGS), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were able to link a persistent, drug-resistant strain of Escherichia coli O157:H7 to multiple sources for various foodborne illness outbreaks.
Whole genome sequencing (WGS) analyses have revealed pervasive Listeria monocytogenes strains to be an issue throughout the Norwegian food system, and researchers hypothesize that genetics may factor into which strains survive and spread in food production environments.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) has reviewed its investigation of a 2018–2019 foodborne illness outbreak involving chicken contaminated by a multi-drug resistant Salmonella Infantis strain, which was the first time that FSIS identified a strain as “persistent.”
