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According to the CDC in the US, drug-resistant infections sicken more than two million people every year, and kill upwards of 23,000. In 2018 alone, pharma giants Novartis, Sanofi and Allergan all sold off or closed up their antibiotics divisions. Janssen Pharmaceuticals (a division of Johnson & Johnson) announced an $818 million deal with a small CRISPER startup called Locus Biosciences to develop a radical new way to develop antibiotics, without causing resistance. Locus has designed CRISPR systems to target critical stretches of DNA, using an enzyme called Cas3 that shreds the DNA. Once loaded into phages and delivered to a patient, the CRISPR system would only prey on the bacteria causing the infection. The company’s scientists hope to avoid any possibility of evolving resistance by targeting multiple indispensable genes. @ https://www.wired.com/story/antibiotics-are-failing-us-crispr-is-our-glimmer-of-hope/

Meat and poultry recalls increased by 2/3 from 2013 to 2018, while food recalls overall increased by 10 percent, according to the report published by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). 2018 was a bad year for food safety with two E. coli contaminations in romaine lettuce, a Salmonella outbreak in raw beef. However, 2018’s 703 recalls were lower that the peak of 905 in 2016. Over the five-year period (13-18), poultry posted the most recalls with 168, followed by beef (137) and pork (128). In addition to meat, and the recall from outbreaks in romaine, processed food and produce recalls increased just 2 percent. Ritz and Goldfish crackers, Honey Smacks cereal, melon and soy nut butter all had recalls. PIRG called for a number of changes to the U.S. food system, some of which are often championed by food safety advocates. Among them is better testing of irrigation water. The group also seeks more stringent inspection and monitoring of food producers, granting the USDA mandatory recall authority for meat and poultry and penalizing companies who continue to sell after a recall. They also want to improve the systems by which retailers alert customers of recalls and the technologies used to trace contaminated produce and meat through the food supply. @ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2019/01/17/food-recalls-increasing-romaine-lettuce-beef-pirg-usda-fda-ecoli-salmonella/2595775002/

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The FDA plans to resume inspections of high-risk food facilities, which include leafy greens and other fresh-cut processing plants on January 15. The FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced, via tweet, the resumption of inspection during the government shutdown. A sampling of products at U.S. ports of entry began again on Jan. 14, he said. “This was a major functional accomplishment amidst one of the biggest operational challenges in FDA’s modern history and it was fully enabled by the leadership of FDA’s field force and the colleagues who serve the country on the front lines of that mission,” he tweeted. “The ongoing federal government shutdown has no effect on the on-farm food safety audits conducted through the California and Arizona LGMA programs,” according to a blog post by California LGMA Marketing Director April Ward on the group’s website. “The LGMA programs utilize state agricultural auditors and the audits are funded by industry. In the Winter, Arizona, and California produce almost all of the leafy greens grown in the U.S., so farm food safety audits continue and are not affected by the shutdown.” According to the Packer, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., has scheduled a Congressional Food Safety Caucus at 2 p.m. Eastern on Jan. 16. A panel of food safety activists will discuss how the shutdown is affecting the ability of FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct food safety inspections and other activities. @ https://www.thepacker.com/article/fda-resumes-fresh-produce-inspections-during-shutdown?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTlRaak1EaGlOVFZpTVRJeCIsInQiOiJ0cmMyREFTallEMnVSdFNjNlwvZ05POFZWSktXdGoxVllNdlwvd2Y1ekVPdDloY2xvSUNcL2xyWGtteXhrXC83NnJOcmJ6ckhhU2lXWGI5VHdCOXEwRWdxdkczZUs1RXJJTkl1UVE5THdqaXRaaGNhTGJnekhjZ09zNTNYVGxDNEFpbUMifQ%3D%3D