In the news

The FDA reported that Freshpet® Select Small Dog Bite-Size Beef & Egg Recipe Dog Food (1 LB bags) due to potential contamination with Salmonella. The lot was designated for destruction, but it was inadvertently shipped to retailers. Freshpet has received no reports of illness, injury, or adverse reaction to date. The impacted products may have been sold at Publix in Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia and at limited Target locations in Arizona and Southern California.  Most of the product was intercepted at retailer distribution warehouses and not delivered to retail stores. @ https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/freshpet-voluntarily-recalls-one-lot-freshpetr-select-small-dog-bite-size-beef-egg-recipe-dog-food

The FDA has released a report on the investigation of Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak in peaches in the summer of 2020. The outbreak caused 101 reported illnesses across 17 states, including 28 hospitalizations. This appears to be the first time a Salmonella outbreak has been linked to peaches. While no test results matched the 2020 outbreak strain, four tests conducted on peach and peach tree leaf samples from an orchard adjacent to a poultry operation yielded positives for Salmonella Alachua, further linked to 2019 and 2020 chicken isolates. During the follow-up investigation, two tests of peach tree leaf samples collected from orchards adjacent to a cattle feedlot yielded positives for Salmonella Montevideo that were genetically similar via WGS to 2018-2020 beef and cattle isolates. The investigational findings reinforce the FDA’s concern about the potential impact that adjacent land uses can have on the safety of produce. The finding reinforces the need to implement appropriate science- and risk-based measures to improve the safety of fresh produce. The FDA encourages all growers to be mindful of and assess risks posed by adjacent and nearby land uses, including the potential impact of dust exposure. @ https://www.fda.gov/food/cfsan-constituent-updates/fda-releases-investigation-findings-following-summer-2020-outbreak-linked-peaches

In the new study, published in the journal Science (Vol. 372, Issue 6547, pp. 1169-1175), scientists investigated Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa that demonstrated resistance to multiple drugs. Their antimicrobial strategy targeted the bacterial hydrogen sulfide (H2S)–mediated defense system. The bacteria rely on the enzyme cystathionine gamma-lyase (CSE) to counter the toxic effects of bactericidal antibiotics (drugs that kill bacteria rather than just slowing their growth).  The studies lead to the discovery of small molecules that inhibit bacterial CSE. CSE inhibitors also suppress bacterial tolerance to antibiotics, disrupting biofilm formation and reducing the number of persister bacteria that survive antibiotic treatment. The new molecules made bactericidal antibiotics two- to 15-fold more potent against the bacteria in Petri dishes. By tamping down hydrogen sulfide production, the inhibitors boosted the effects of antibiotics against microorganisms and suppressed bacterial tolerance. @ https://science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6547/1169