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6425409 
Journal Article 
Use of Whole-Genome Sequencing for Food Safety and Public Health in the United States 
Brown, E; Dessai, U; Mcgarry, S; Gerner-Smidt, P 
2019 
Yes 
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease
ISSN: 1535-3141
EISSN: 1556-7125 
16 
441-450 
English 
Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is increasingly used by food regulatory and public health agencies in the United States to facilitate the detection, investigation, and control of foodborne bacterial outbreaks, and food regulatory and other activities in support of food safety. WGS has added a level of precision to the surveillance leading to faster and more efficient decision making in the preparedness and response to foodborne infections. In this review, we report the history of WGS technology at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA/FSIS) as it applies to food safety. The basic principle of the method, the analysis, and interpretation of the data are explained as is its major strengths and limitations. We also describe the benefits and possibilities of the WGS technology to the food industry throughout the farm-to-fork continuum and the prospects of metagenomic sequencing applied directly to the sample specimen with or without pre-enrichment culture. 
; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Food Safety and Inspection Service; Food and Drug Administration; decision making; farm to fork; food industry; food safety; foodborne illness; metagenomics; monitoring; public health; sequence analysis; United States/