The Antimicrobial Resistance in the Food Chain

Dear Colleagues,

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a pressing global health concern, with the food chain presenting a significant conduit for the dissemination of resistant bacteria. Foodborne pathogens, including Campylobacter, Norovirus, Salmonella, Escherichia coli Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica, Clostridium species, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus, are known to cause gastrointestinal illnesses (e.g., abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting) and, in severe cases, respiratory difficulties and death. The transmission of disease-causing bacteria from food to consumers can occur through direct or indirect pathways. It is possible to trace the spread of infections through traditional epidemiological studies and molecular typing methods able to assess the structure (such as pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE)) or sequence (like multilocus sequence typing (MLST)) of a microbe’s genetic material. These methods help determine the relationships between different isolates, establish whether they could be feasibly connected in the transmission of infections, and provide insights into the transmission dynamics of AMR within the food chain. Antimicrobial resistance is a natural process where microorganisms, which were once sensitive and could be treated with specific antibiotics, evolve to become resistant to these antibiotics. Food and food products can be tainted with antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (AMRB) at any stage in the farm-to-table process. Microbes utilize various strategies to combat antimicrobial agents, including the breakdown of antibiotics and antibacterial agents by enzymes, alteration of the targets of antibiotics, changes in cell wall permeability, and initiating alternative pathways. Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for developing strategies to mitigate the spread of AMR. This Special Issue collects research articles and reviews papers dealing with the occurrence and distribution of microbes responsible for food contamination, as well as the mechanisms involved in antibiotic resistance and strategic approaches.

In particular, the following topics are of interest:

• The isolation and identification of AMRB in the food chain;
• Antibiotic resistance genes;
• Antimicrobial resistance profiles;
• Antimicrobial strategies combatting foodborne pathogens.

Prof. Dr. Irene Dini
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• food safety
• foodborne pathogens
• pathways of antimicrobial resistance
• antibiotic resistance
• phenotypic analyses
• molecular analyses
• regulatory guidelines
• food chemistry