Food Genomics Is Going Global

Advancements in food genomics, particularly high-throughput or next-generation sequencing, are allowing scientists and regulators to detect and identify foodborne pathogens with unparalleled speed and accuracy. By the end of this year, laboratories at FDA, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, and the CDC will rely almost exclusively on whole genome sequencing (WGS) as their main surveillance tool to differentiate strains of bacteria and identify related clusters of infections.