IDFA is a member of the Alliance for Listeriosis Prevention, a group of food industry associations and individual food companies with an interest in promoting science- and risk-based policies to prevent Listeriosis. The alliance will host a webinar on whole genome sequencing and its impact on the food and beverage industry on August 17, 2-3 p.m. Eastern time.

Betsy Booren, vice president of scientific affairs for the North American Meat Institute, will explain the technology, discuss its use by the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and examine the likely impact the technology will have on the entire food and beverage industry. IDFA member representatives may register for the webinar by sending their names, email addresses, phone numbers and affiliation with IDFA to the American Frozen Food Institute at RSVP@AFFI.com. NAMI and AFFI are also members of the alliance.

What Is Whole Genome Sequencing? 

Whole genome sequencing allows laboratory workers to determine the complete DNA structure of an organism or pathogen. It can be used during a foodborne illness outbreak to differentiate various pathogens and identify exactly where the source of contamination originated.

According to its website, FDA is “spearheading an international effort to build a network of laboratories that can sequence the genomes of foodborne pathogens and then upload the genomic sequence of the pathogen and the geographic location from which the pathogen was gathered into a publicly accessible database. As the size of the database grows, so will its strength as a tool to help focus and speed investigations into the root cause of illnesses.”

For more information, contact John Allan, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs and international standards, at jallan@idfa.org.