Antimicrobial resistance in enteric pathogens from retail meat and seafood: A NARMS Retail Food Surveillance Program in Illinois

About This Grant

Project Summary/Abstract Retail raw meat and seafood pose risks of foodborne bacterial pathogen transmission to humans. Meat products like chicken, beef, ground turkey, and pork are major sources of foodborne pathogens including Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Campylobacter. Seafood products at retail venues, including shrimp, tilapia, and salmon, often carry Vibrio and Aeromonas. These foodborne pathogens from retail food products frequently show resistance to multiple antimicrobials, posing a serious public health risk. As antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens food safety and public health, monitoring AMR in these bacteria is essential to prevent the spread through the food chain. The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS), a U.S. public health surveillance system, tracks AMR in humans, animals, and retail meats. Illinois—with densely populated urban centers and agricultural regions—plays a key role in the national food supply chain. This project will enhance AMR surveillance by supporting the FDA-NARMS program in Illinois through standardized testing of retail food products. Fresh meat (including chicken, ground turkey, ground beef, and pork chops) will be collected twice monthly from retail outlets randomly selected from NARMS-designated locations within Illinois, with microbiological testing for Salmonella, Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus. Seafood samples (shrimp, tilapia, and salmon) will be tested for Enterococcus, Aeromonas, Vibrio, and other lactose fermenting bacteria. The isolates will be serotyped and subjected to whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and molecular testing (PCR) following NARMS protocols. All sequences will be submitted to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) within 2 months, and isolates will be sent to the FDA. Our work will follow NARMS protocols and data agreements, participating in NARMS calls and working groups. This project will track emerging AMR trends in foodborne bacterial pathogens through data derived from phenotypic and genotypic analyses, enabling public health agencies to take appropriate measures. The specific aims are: 1) Initiate and strengthen Illinois-wide AMR surveillance through strategic retail sampling of poultry, meat, and seafood products; 2) Elucidate phenotypic resistance profiles and perform WGS of priority foodborne bacterial pathogen isolates; 3) Leverage integrated genomic and metadata analyses to assess AMR trends and track dissemination patterns across retail food sources. The long-term objective is to strengthen national AMR surveillance and protect public health by identifying risks from resistant foodborne bacteria.