The detailed analysis of the microbiome and resistome of artisanal blue-veined cheeses provides evidence on sources and patterns of succession linked with quality and safety traits.

Background: Artisanal cheeses usually contain a highly diverse microbial community which can significantly impact their quality and safety. Here, we describe a detailed longitudinal study assessing the impact of ripening in three natural caves on the microbiome and resistome succession across three different producers of Cabrales blue-veined cheese.

Results: Both the producer and cave in which cheeses were ripened significantly influenced the cheese microbiome.

Sequencing-based analysis of the microbiomes of Spanish food processing facilities reveals environment-specific variation in the dominant taxa and antibiotic resistance genes.

In the last years, advances in high throughput sequencing technologies have opened the possibility to broaden environmental monitoring activities in facilities processing food, offering expanded opportunities for characterizing in an untargeted manner the microbiome and resistome of foods and food processing environments (FPE) with huge potential benefits in food safety management systems. Here the microbiome and resistome of FPE from slaughterhouses (n = 3), dairy (n = 12) and meat (n = 10) processing plants were assessed through whole metagenome sequencing of 2 composite samples for each facility, comprising 10 FPE swabs taken from food contact surfaces and 10 FPE samples from non-food contact surfaces, respectively. FPE from slaughterhouses had more diverse microbiomes and resistomes, while FPE from dairy processing plants showed the highest β-dispersion, consistent with a more heterogeneous microbiome and resistome composition.

Microbial colonization and resistome dynamics in food processing environments of a newly opened pork cutting industry during 1.5 years of activity.

Background: The microorganisms that inhabit food processing environments (FPE) can strongly influence the associated food quality and safety. In particular, the possibility that FPE may act as a reservoir of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, and a hotspot for the transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is a concern in meat processing plants. Here, we monitor microbial succession and resistome dynamics relating to FPE through a detailed analysis of a newly opened pork cutting plant over 1.

Rapid Methods for Antimicrobial Resistance Diagnostics.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most challenging threats in public health; thus, there is a growing demand for methods and technologies that enable rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST). The conventional methods and technologies addressing AMR diagnostics and AST employed in clinical microbiology are tedious, with high turnaround times (TAT), and are usually expensive. As a result, empirical antimicrobial therapies are prescribed leading to AMR spread, which in turn causes higher mortality rates and increased healthcare costs.

Extended Spectrum β-Lactamase (ESBL) Producing in Pigs and Pork Meat in the European Union.

The aim of this article is to review the fast and worldwide distribution of ESBL enzymes and to describe the role of the pork production chain as a reservoir and transmission route of ESBL-producing and ESBLs in the European Union (EU). The use of β-lactam antibiotics in swine production and the prevalence of ESBL producing in fattening pigs and pork meat across Europe is analyzed. Overall, an increasing trend in the prevalence of presumptive ESBL producing in fattening pigs in the EU has been observed in the last decade, although with major differences among countries, linked to different approaches in the use of antimicrobials in pork production within the EU.