Leafy greens contaminated with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) have continued to cause foodborne illness outbreaks and remain a threat to public health. A team from FDA and CDC published in J Food Prot (2021) (Irvin et al. (https://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article-abstract/doi/10.4315/JFP-21-112/463972/An-Overview-of-Traceback-Investigations-and-Three?redirectedFrom=fulltext) the traceback investigation of three Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections linked to romaine lettuce in 2018 and 2019. The study demonstrates challenges, limitations, and opportunities for improvement. The three outbreaks resulted in a total of 474 illnesses, 215 hospitalizations, and five deaths. These illnesses were linked to the consumption of romaine lettuce from three distinct growing regions in Arizona and California. The team reported several challenges: the time it took to initiate a traceback, limited product-identifying information throughout the supply chain, lack of interoperability in record-keeping systems, and co-mingling of products from multiple suppliers. The challenges resulted in time delays in identifying the farm source of the leafy greens and the inability to identify the root cause of contamination. Adopting traceability systems could help address these challenges by improving traceback investigations and ultimately preventing foodborne illnesses and future outbreaks.
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A study was published in Communications Biology (Delgado-Blas, J.F., Ovejero, C.M., David, S. et al. Population genomics and antimicrobial resistance dynamics of Escherichia coli in wastewater and river environments. Commun Biol 4, 457 (2021)) with the goal to understand the population genomics and evolutionary events of Escherichia coli resistant to clinically important in natural water ecosystems. The study shows that less different E. coli sequence types (STs) are identified in wastewater than in rivers. However, more resistant to antibiotics and significantly more plasmids/cell (6.36 vs. 3.72) is seen in rivers. The genomic diversity within E. coli STs in both aquatic environments is similar. Wastewater environments favor the selection of conserved chromosomal structures associated with diverse, flexible plasmids, unraveling promiscuous interplasmidic resistance genes flux. @ https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-021-01949-x
Jose F. Delgado-Blas et al. report a genomic analysis of two antimicrobial-resistant E. coli populations from wastewater and river water. They find that bacteria from wastewater are more resistant to antibiotics and rely on a diverse set of plasmids for adaptation, while river bacteria adapt mainly via chromosomal changes.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that JBS USA Food Company (Greeley, Colorado) recalls approximately 4,860 pounds of imported boneless beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The raw, frozen, boneless beef products were imported on or around Nov. 10, 2020, and distributed for further processing. The products are in 60-lb. cardboard boxes containing “95CL BONELESS BEEF PRODUCT OF AUSTRALIA” with “PACKED ON: 02-SEP-20”. The products were shipped to distributors and further processors in New York and Pennsylvania. The problem was discovered when FSIS collected a routine product sample that confirmed positive for the presence of E. coli O157:H7. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. FSIS is concerned that some products may be frozen and in cold storage at distributor or additional processor locations. @ https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/jbs-usa-food-company-recalls-imported-boneless-beef-products-due-possible-e.-coli
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Despite clear FDA recommendations for handwashing and glove use, food worker compliance with the recommendations is inadequate. There is frequent use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (ABHSs) instead of hand washing in health care settings. The practice has improved hand hygiene compliance rates and reduced infections. The Food Code continues to permit the use of ABHSs only after hands have been washed with soap and water. A study published in J Food Prot (2021) 84 (5): 781–801 found that alcohol-based solutions are better than soap when soil is light to moderate. The data suggest that ABHSs are less effective than handwashing with soap and water for reducing bacteria when hands are heavily soiled with feces or organic substances. When heavy hand contamination exists, the combination of hand washing followed by the use of an ABHS can reduce bacterial counts on hands to a greater extent than either process alone. ABHSs may be helpful in some settings in which soap and water are not available (e.g., on large farms). Alcohol-based solutions have increased activity against noroviruses.@ https://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article/84/5/781/449411/Scientific-Evidence-Supports-the-Use-of-Alcohol
