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The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) released the NARMS Integrated Summary 2019. NARMS is a national public health system that monitors pathogens in human and animal samples for resistance to antimicrobial drugs used in human and veterinary medicine. The NARMS Integrated Summary 2019 combines antimicrobial resistance data in bacteria isolated from humans (by CDC), raw retail meats (by FDA), and animals at slaughter (by USDA) to examine trends in resistance to the most important antimicrobial agents. The data from 2019 showed that 78% of Salmonella isolates collected from humans were not resistant to any of the antimicrobials. In humans, the overall resistance level remains relatively unchanged from 2018 and is in line with other data from 2006 to 2017, where 76–85% of Salmonella tested were susceptible to all antimicrobials. @ https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/cvm-updates/fda-releases-narms-integrated-summary-2019?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

The USDA ARS published a study examining a population of 181 strains of STEC over 23 years from a closed-system feedlot. (Weinroth, M.D., Clawson, M.L., Arthur, T.M. et al. Rates of evolutionary change of resident Escherichia coli O157:H7 differ within the same ecological niche. BMC Genomics 23, 275 (2022)). All strains were subjected to short-read sequencing, with a subset of 36 also subjected to long-read sequencing. The goal of the study was to understand how STEC O157:H7 evolve over time and offer context into strain relatedness in foodborne illness outbreak investigations. Over 23 years, four main clades of STEC O157:H7 were present within the feedlot, each recovered over a time span of at least a decade. @ https://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-022-08497-6#Sec11

Prosecutors in France searched a Buitoni frozen pizza factory in Caudry, France, because the factory is suspected to be the source of an E. coli outbreak that caused dozens of children to become sick and the headquarters of its owner Nestle France. An investigation into involuntary manslaughter and deceitful practices was opened on 1 April after authorities found more than 70 infections and the potential death of a one-year-old and an 18-year-old. Nestle France, whose headquarters outside Paris were also raided. The inspection revealed a deterioration of food hygiene controls, rodents’ presence, and insufficient measures to prevent pests from contaminating a food production site. French authorities say the reports the outbreak might have begun to occur in late February. Recalls were also ordered in Belgium and Luxembourg, with the affected pizzas distributed in 20 other countries, including 15 in Africa, according to the EU’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed. @ https://www.firstpost.com/world/france-prosecutors-raid-nestle-owned-pizza-factory-after-e-coli-outbreak-leaves-dozens-of-children-sick-10553251.html

According to the ACCC in Australia, Coles Supermarkets Australia (Hawthorn East, Victoria) has recalled Coles Raw Baby Spinach products from the marketplace due to suspected Salmonella contamination. The recalled products are Coles Baby Spinach, sold in 60 gram, 120 gram, and 280 gram cello plastic bags. The recalled products were sold in Coles Supermarkets, Coles Local, and Coles Online in Queensland, Australian Capital Territory, and New South Wales (excluding Coles stores in Lavington, Deniliquin, and Albury). Quality testing by Coles’ supplier has identified the presence of Salmonella in the 120g Baby Spinach product. Coles recalls all three Baby Spinach products sourced from this supplier. @ https://www.productsafety.gov.au/recalls/coles-supermarkets-pty-ltd-%E2%80%94-coles-baby-spinach