In November 2022, the FDA published its Final Food Traceability Rule, Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods. The Rule requires companies that manufacture, process, pack, or hold foods listed on the Food Traceability List (FTL) to maintain detailed records on their supply chain and suppliers, including “Key Data Elements” (KDEs), about how those supplies handled and processed. Bob Ferguson published the results of a questionnaire on the new Traceability rule in Food Safety and its impact on food processors. They surveyed ~100 companies in the US, Canada, and 13 other countries. 88% of US companies are aware of the new rules. However, less than 50% of international companies are aware of it. The top concerns are about application and enforcement and how the FDA will approach enforcement for products that appear to be covered under the FTL but are not precisely defined in the text of the Rule. Many questioned the type and intensity of enforcement being expected. Companies, especially small ones, are requesting help to comply. Another concern is getting further clarity on the steps required for compliance. Companies are concerned about the complexity of the programs and recordkeeping needed and important considerations on additional staffing and costs required to comply with the Traceability Rule. Only 5 % of processors said they had “no concerns” about the Rule. 87 % of companies said that a three-year compliance timeframe was reasonable, and 11 % were not sure. @ https://digitaledition.food-safety.com/february-march-2023/column-food-safety-insights/
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We surveyed food processors in North America and internationally to get their thoughts on FDA’s new Traceability Rule and how it will impact their businesses.
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A new publication describes a novel antibiotic, Albicidin, with bactericidal activity towards fluoroquinolone-resistant Gram-negative pathogens (Michalczyk, E., Hommernick, K., Behroz, I. et al. Molecular mechanism of topoisomerase poisoning by the peptide antibiotic Albicidin. Nat Catal 6, 52–67 (2023)). Albicidin employs a dual binding mechanism where one end of the molecule obstructs the crucial gyrase dimer interface while the other intercalates between the fragments of cleaved DNA substrate. Therefore, Albicidin efficiently locks DNA gyrase, preventing it from religating DNA and completing its catalytic cycle. Two additional structures of this trapped state were determined using synthetic Albicidin analogues, demonstrating improved solubility and activity against various gyrase variants and E. coli topoisomerase IV. The extraordinary promiscuity of the DNA-intercalating region of Albicidin and their excellent performance against fluoroquinolone-resistant bacteria holds great promise for the development of last-resort antibiotics.@ https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-022-00904-1
Albicidin is a peptide antibiotic that has shown great promise for inhibiting DNA topoisomerase of fluoroquinolone-resistant Gram-negative pathogens, but its mode of action is not fully clear. Now, cryoelectron microscopy structures of albicidinâgyrase complexes provide detailed insights into the mechanism of this natural product.
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The FSIS NARMS (National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System) published a Multiyear Report evaluating trends in Salmonella serotypes and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in certain food animal species and products sampled from 2014 through 2019 as part of FSIS NARMS sampling. Salmonella isolates were analyzed by serotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) to evaluate differences in sample source and slaughter class (chicken, turkey, cattle, and swine). The top Salmonella serotypes in the cecal (intestinal) and product samples for each slaughter class remained the same throughout the study: Kentucky (chicken), Reading (turkey), Montevideo (cattle), and Anatum (swine).
The serotype Infantis emerged as one of the top serotypes in chicken in both cecal (21%) and product samples (15%). Most of the Salmonella from cecal samples among all slaughter classes were not resistant to any antimicrobials tested over the 6 years. Multidrug resistant (MDR) Salmonella gradually increased over time in both cecal and product samples, with a significant increase in product samples from 2016 to 2019. Serotype Infantis emerged as a major contributor to the increase in MDR Salmonella in chicken. Salmonella susceptibility to ciprofloxacin significantly decreased among isolates from cecal and product samples. Cephalosporin-resistant Salmonella increased over time in product samples from cattle and swine. Salmonella isolates showed a significant increase in resistance to ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.