An assessment of Listeria typing data reported by national public health reference laboratories has shown positive results.
The findings come from the fifth external quality assessment (EQA-5) scheme for typing of Listeria monocytogenes.
The test was organized for laboratories providing data to the Food- and Waterborne Diseases and Zoonoses Network (FWD-Net) managed by…
Implementing whole genome sequencing at the European level could save up to five months in detecting multi-country Listeria outbreaks, according to a recent study.
More than half of severe listeriosis cases in the European Union are part of clusters, many of which are not detected fast enough by the current surveillance system. The study, led…
The application of genomics is reducing the number of people who become ill from foodborne infections, according to Public Health England.
PHE made the comments in a paper on the transition to use of whole genome sequencing (WGS).
“The introduction of routine WGS has improved national and local surveillance, increased the number of outbreaks being…
The World Health Organization is encouraging all countries to look at how whole genome sequencing can be used to improve their foodborne disease surveillance and response system.
Used as part of such a system, whole genome sequencing (WGS) can increase the speed with which illnesses and food contamination are detected and the detail in which…
Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is being used in the food safety laboratories of more than half of countries surveyed in Europe. By the end of 2016, the technique was present in labs in 17 of 30 countries, according to results of a survey by the European Commission and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
They found…
We’ve been reporting on the E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce since federal officials first announced it on April 13. Actually, though romaine hadn’t been connected to it yet, we started reporting on the outbreak April 4. A day earlier New Jersey health officials had alerted the public to a cluster of…
Editor’s note: This column by FDA’s Steven Musser and Eric L. Stevens was originally published on the agency’s blog.
FDA is laying the foundation for the use of whole genome sequencing (WGS) to protect
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The fourth Salmonella outbreak linked to fresh cucumbers since 2013 sickened people in at least eight states and spurred a national grocery chain to pull mini cucumbers from shelves this past spring — but federal officials didn’t go public about it until this week.
The CDC reports that 14 people across…
Miller’s Organic Farm is not having a good year.
In March, it was associated with a raw milk Listeria outbreak involving one fatality. A judge then approved USDA’s request to inspect the farm, which led to requests for sales records. Now, Amish owner Amos Miller has been ordered back to court on Nov. 1 where…
Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of three guest opinion columns by Jim Mann in recognition of September as National Food Safety Month. The more we learn about norovirus, the clearer the choices are in changing current behaviors. Foodservice operators know a lot about norovirus, especially in how to cope with an…
(Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of three guest opinion columns by Jim Mann in recognition of September as National Food Safety Month.)
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