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An article was published in Sensors and Actuator B: Chemical Vol 385, 15 June 2023. Ge et al., Entitled “Label-free droplet-based bacterial growth phenotype screening by a mini integrated microfluidic platform.” Current measurements for strain growth phenotype are based on macroscopic culture and continuous turbidity monitoring followed by a growth curve with a long evaluation period. Rapid and accurate microbial screening, important in industrial breeding, enzyme directed evolution, and synthetic biology, is currently time-consulting. Fluorescence-activated droplet sorting (FADS) system offers a promising alternative for microbial screening with high-throughput analysis. For many methods, pre-labeling steps are required before use. A new, low-cost, label-free droplet-based mini integrated microfluidic platform was developed for bacterial growth phenotype screening based on the difference in droplet autofluorescence properties. Droplet provides a parallel culture unit for single cells, enabling high-throughput measurement of the growth rate of single-cell cultures in a short time. A low-cost and modularized microfluidic system is developed for bacterial growth phenotype screening in droplets, in which a flexible and on-demand droplet detector is designed to be compatible with microfluidic devices. @ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0925400523004069?via%3Dihub

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and provincial public health partners are investigating an outbreak of Salmonella infections in eight provinces. The outbreak is ongoing, as recent illnesses have been reported to the PHAC. The outbreak is linked to snakes and feeder rodents. Many individuals who became sick reported having direct or indirect contact with snakes and feeder rodents (used as reptile food) before their illnesses occurred. As of April 13, 2023, there are 45 confirmed cases of Salmonella illness reported in the following provinces: British Columbia (1), Alberta (5), Saskatchewan (1), Manitoba (3), Ontario (22), Quebec (11), New Brunswick (1) and Newfoundland and Labrador (1). WGS showed that some Salmonella illnesses that date back to 2022 were determined to have the same genetic type as the illnesses that occurred in 2023.  @ Public Health Notice: Outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to snakes and rodents – Canada.ca

An article by Halbedel et al. published in Clinical Microbiology (10 April 2023) reports a large multinational listeriosis outbreak with 55 cases (including 3 fatalities) that affected Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Switzerland during 2020 and 2021. Routine and ad hoc investigations of food samples identified L. monocytogenes isolates from smoked rainbow trout filets from a Danish producer grouping with the Ny9 cluster. Patient interviews confirmed the consumption of rainbow trout as the most likely infection source. The report demonstrates that international food trade can cause multicounty outbreaks that necessitate cross-border outbreak collaboration. It also corroborates the relevance of ready-to-eat smoked fish products as causes of listeriosis. @ https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.03520-22

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) announced the appointment of Frank Yiannas to the company’s Food Safety Advisory Council. Chipotle had nearly 3,200 restaurants as of December 31, 2022, in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Chipotle is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants. Frank Yiannas most recently served as the Deputy Commissioner at the FDA. Yiannas will join a group of independent experts commissioned to ensure Chipotle’s food safety standards continue to evolve and serve as best practices for the restaurant industry. “In order to make sure our food safety culture and programs are as robust as possible, it’s critical to supplement our internal expertise with independent external guidance,” said Kerry Bridges, Vice President of Food Safety at Chipotle. @ https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chipotle-appoints-former-fda-deputy-commissioner-frank-yiannas-to-food-safety-advisory-council-301796217.html