In the news

As part of a plan by Secretary Sonny Perdue to cut costs in the federal bureaucracy he plans to relocate the Economic Research Service (ERS), which provides research and statistical analysis for lawmakers, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), which oversees the allocation of federal funding for primarily academic research across the country outside of Washington DC. He is planning to move the roughly 300from the research unit, along with another division, NIFA, out of Washington and closer to America’s farmers. The potential locations include Indiana, Kansas City or North Carolina’s Research Triangle. Perdue believes that the move will save money and make research more relevant. @ https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/us/politics/agriculture-department-economists.html

The FDA has sent a warning letter (https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/velvet-ice-cream-company-575444-05062019) to the Velvet Ice Cream Company of Utica, Ohio. The FDA investigators found serious violations of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food regulation (CGMP & PC rule), Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 117 (21 CFR Part 117). In the environmental swabs collected, the FDA laboratory found the presence of Listeria monocytogenes. Nine environmental swabs were positive for Listeria. Whole genome sequencing of those swabs identified twenty-one isolates representing six different strains of Listeria monocytogenes. The same strain was found in seven isolates from the 2019 inspection, and eight collected during the 2018 inspection. This indicates that there is a resident pathogen or harborage site in the facility since 2018. Many other violations were also cited.

A team from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Chemistry, led by Professor Jim Thomas, is testing new compounds developed by his Ph.D. student Kirsty Smitten on antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria, including pathogenic E. coli. Gram-negative bacteria are difficult to treat because their cell wall prevents drugs from getting into the cell. New treatments for gram-negative bacteria are imperative as g- bacteria are rapidly becoming immune to current drugs. The new drug compound has a range of exciting opportunities. Professor Jim Thomas explains: “As the compound is luminescent it glows when exposed to light. This means the uptake and effect on bacteria can be followed by advanced microscopy techniques. The research, published in the journal ACS Nano. @ https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/uos-nc052219.php

The Rhode Island Department of Health discovered, during testing of a five-pound bag of Baker’s Corner All Purpose Flour, the presence of E. coli 026. As a result, ADM Milling Co. is expanding its recall from 2 lots to all five-pound bags of Baker’s Corner All Purpose Flour packaged for ALDI in select markets. The strain of E. coli found in the flour is linked to 17 illnesses in 11 states (Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia). ADM Milling is working directly with ALDI, which has already recalled all potentially impacted products from store shelves in the region. ADM Milling is conducting an in-depth investigation to determine the cause of the contamination and is working closely with regulators throughout this process. @ https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/adm-milling-expands-recall-bakers-corner-all-purpose-flour-5lb-bags-packaged-aldi-select-states?utm_campaign=ADM%20Milling%20Expands%20Recall%20of%20Baker%E2%80%99s%20Corner%20All%20Purpose%20Flour%205lb%20Bags&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua