In the news

CDC and public health officials in multiple states are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Hadar infections linked to contact with backyard poultry. A total of 97 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Hadar have been reported from 28 states. 17 people (34% of those with information available) have been hospitalized and no deaths have been reported. 30% of ill people are children younger than 5 years of age. People reported obtaining chicks and ducklings from several sources, including agricultural stores, websites, and hatcheries. WGS of 26 isolates from ill people showed antibiotic resistance to one or more of the following antibiotics: amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (4%), ampicillin (4%), cefoxitin (4%), ceftriaxone (4%), gentamicin (4%), streptomycin (100%), sulfamethoxazole (4%), and tetracycline (100%).   https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/backyardpoultry-05-20/index.html

Raw milk from a Cayuga County dairy has tested positive for Listeria, state officials warned Monday. Inspectors with the state Department of Agriculture and Markets recently tested the raw, unpasteurized milk from Doren Martin at the Serenity Meadows Dairy at 2890 Jorolemon Road in Weedsport, according to a news release the state-issued Monday. Two lab samples, including one taken Monday, confirmed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in the unpasteurized milk. No illnesses have been reported, officials said. Farmers must conduct a serious of tests on their animals, including a brucellosis milk ring test, a tuberculosis test for each animal, water tests, and pathogen tests for each animal along with a monthly milk sample. The dairy owners are prohibited from selling raw milk until samples return showing that the milk is free from pathogenic bacteria. In New York, raw milk must be sold directly from the farm to the consumer. @ https://www.syracuse.com/news/2020/05/state-warns-of-raw-milk-sold-from-cayuga-county-dairy.html

The White House and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a $16 billion in direct aid that will flow through USDA’s Farm Service Agency to a broad array of producers for various products, including cattle, pork, dairy, fruits, vegetables, and commodity crops. The program in addition to the direct aid to farmers will also include $3 billion in commodity purchases that will go to food banks. Under the program, producers will receive 80% of their expected payment initially. The remaining 20% will come later in the year, likely after Commodity Credit Corp. coffers have been replenished. @ https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/business-inputs/article/2020/05/19/president-trump-announces-aid-sign

Lack of knowledge of when to clean pipelines can result in significant economic and environmental costs. Ultrasonic measurements and machine learning can be used to detect fouling in food pipes. A study published in Food Control described the use of ultrasonic measurements and a range of different machine learning classification methods to monitor the fouling removal of food materials in plastic and metal cylindrical pipes. The data showed that the developed techniques could predict the presence of fouling with prediction confidence as high as 100% for both plastic and metal pipes. The technique performed marginally better in the plastic pipe. All machine learning methods studied had a good performance. The study showed the potential of a low-cost ultrasonic sensor to monitor and therefore optimize cleaning processes within pipes.  @ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0956713520302255?dgcid=rss_sd_all