A significant number of pathogens can be transmitted to humans through meat and poultry, and the risks have changed over time. The public health threat posed by some pathogens has diminished, while others have persisted for decades. New, often more virulent strains of existing disease agents continue to emerge, along with previously unknown pathogens such as the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). When such truly new pathogens emerge in one part of the world, many questions remain initially unanswered, including how they are transmitted, which animal species they can infect, whether they may extend their geographic range, and whether transmission through meat and poultry may be possible. MERS-CoV, for instance, is currently emerging in camels and humans in the Middle East; what, if any, risk this virus may pose to the U.S. meat supply going forward is difficult to predict. Some emerging pathogens, such as E. coli O157:H7, have eventually developed into major food safety concerns. For others, such as the hepatitis E virus (HEV), the importance of exposure through meat is still uncertain. Given the dynamic properties of foodborne pathogens, one thing appears certain: New foodborne risks inevitably will develop.
This study reviews microbial hazards and risks in the U.S. meat and poultry supply that have emerged, are emerging, or that evidence suggests may emerge in the future. The study’s goals are to identify factors that favor the occurrence of emerging pathogens (EPs) and pinpoint traits that EPs transmitted through meat and poultry may share; characterize the challenges these pose, be they scientific, technological, or regulatory; and determine mechanisms that might facilitate the expeditious detection, characterization, and control of such EPs.
FoodWorld 