Investing in food safety for developing countries: opportunities and challenges in applying whole-genome sequencing for food safety management
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Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations / Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Abstract
Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has become a significant tool in investigating foodborne disease outbreaks and
some countries have incorporated WGS into national food control systems. However, WGS poses technical chal-
lenges that deter developing countries from incorporating it into their food safety management system. A rapid
scoping review was conducted, followed by a focus group session, to understand the current situation regarding the use
of WGS for foodborne disease surveillance and food monitoring at the global level and identify key limiting factors for
developing countries in adopting WGS for their food control systems. The results showed that some developed nations
routinely use WGS in their food surveillance systems resulting in more precise understanding of the causes of
outbreaks. In developing nations, knowledge of WGS exists in the academic/research sectors; however, there is
limited understanding at the government level regarding the usefulness of WGS for food safety regulatory activities.
Thus, incorporation of WGS is extremely limited in most developing nations. While some countries lack the capacity
to collect and analyze the data generated from WGS, the most significant technical gap in most developing countries is
in data interpretation using bioinformatics. The gaps in knowledge and capacities between developed and developing
nations regarding use of WGS likely introduce an inequality in international food trade, and thus, relevant international
organizations, as well as the countries that are already proficient in the use of WGS, have significant roles in assisting
developing nations to be able to fully benefit from the technology and its applications in food safety management.
Description
FOODBORNE PATHOGENS AND DISEASE, Volume 16, Number 7, 2019
Keywords
Whole-genome sequencing, Next-generation sequencing, Foodborne disease surveillance, Food safety, Developing countries, Food-Agriculture Organization, United Nations