That Bagged Salad Recall? Scientists Now Have the Bacteria's Fingerprints

Key points

• Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) allows scientists to 'fingerprint' bacteria, creating a definitive genetic link between a contaminated food source and sick individuals.
• WGS technology has dramatically reduced the time it takes to solve foodborne outbreaks, from months to a matter of days, enabling highly specific and targeted recalls.
• This new level of precision is creating an era of radical accountability for food producers, who can now be irrefutably linked to an outbreak, driving investment in preventative safety measures.
• For consumers, this means recalls will be more specific, requiring careful attention to brand names, lot codes, and dates rather than avoiding entire food categories.
• An apparent increase in the number of recalls is not a sign of a less safe food supply, but rather a reflection of a vastly improved ability to detect and trace contamination.

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Sources and methodology

Reported from the public datasets below.

• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - FDA recalls, market withdrawals and safety alerts
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - FSIS recalls and public health alerts

All sources Foodie Pundit reports from

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