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Even though extensive cleaning procedures in clean rooms and spacecraft are utilized, molecular genetics analyses show that the clean rooms harbor a diverse collection of microorganisms or a spacecraft microbiome. The Acinetobacter, a genus of bacteria, are among the dominant members of the spacecraft microbiome. In this research, the investigators showed that under ultraminimal conditions several spacecraft-associated Acinetobacter metabolize or biodegrade the spacecraft cleaning reagents of ethanol (ethyl alcohol), 2-propanol (isopropyl alcohol), and Kleenol 30 (floor detergent). The work showed that cultures grew on ethyl alcohol as a sole carbon source while displaying reasonable tolerances towards oxidative stress. This study provides a plausible biochemical explanation to the observed microbial ecology dynamics of spacecraft-associated environments. @ https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/ast.2017.1814
More information: Rakesh Mogul et al. Metabolism and Biodegradation of Spacecraft Cleaning Reagents by Strains of Spacecraft-Associated Acinetobacter, Astrobiology (2018). DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1814

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The source of the largest outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in more than a decade is still unsolved. It caused tremendous human suffering, many lawsuits, 45% drop in consumption of romaine lettuce. It also resulted in losses to growers, retailers, and restaurants. The FDA (@https://blogs.fda.gov/fdavoice/index.php/2018/05/fda-update-on-traceback-related-to-the-e-coli-o157h7-outbreak-linked-to-romaine-lettuce/?utm_campaign=FDA%20Voice%20FDA%20Update%20on%20Traceback%20Related%20to%20the%20E.%20coli%20O157%3AH7%20Outbreak%20Linked%20to%20Romaine%20Lettuce&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua) in their letter shows their approach to traceability. As shown in the image, it is designed to find points of convergence from several well-identified clusters of illness with a common point of exposure, such as a restaurant or grocery store. When that point of convergence is identified, efforts can then focus on how the contamination occurred at that location. However, this effort did not yield the desired results. Perhaps the effort should focus on the reduction of the chances of a new one happening.

Industrial Microbiology Market Report, 5th Edition (IMMR-5), by Strategic Diagnostics provides detailed testing practices and test technologies on six sectors (Food Safety, Beverage, Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care/Cosmetics, Environmental and Industrial processing) on a worldwide basis, as well as market data and analysis from five world regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Rest of the World. The industrial microbiology market will exceed 2.4 billion tests in 2018. Food microbiology testing, especially the detection of food pathogens, will lead this sector’s growth with worldwide test volumes approaching 1.3 billion tests and with a market value of greater than US $4 billion. Demand for food safety laboratory services is growing even faster — at double digits – and leads the food safety sector as food processors increasingly outsource food pathogen analysis to food commercial laboratories. @ https://www.foodsafetymagazine.com/news/worldwide-industrial-microbiology-testing-market-to-grow-to-more-than-3-billion-tests-by-2023/