Foodborne outbreaks continue to occur at an unacceptable pace. Although the pathogens involved appear to be the same cast of characters, the food matrix varies considerably. Two common themes persist with microbes that cause human illness via the ingestion of contaminated foods. First, the genetic information each pathogen possesses enables these microorganisms to express their virulence potential. Second is their ability to evolve and adapt to their environment—how they can either grow or survive under the intrinsic and extrinsic conditions present. With the advent of whole genome sequencing, the genetic mystery of each pathogen can be revealed by its order of nucleotides. However, this provides information contained at the tip of the iceberg. Bioinformatic analyses and database development allow researchers to analyze large amounts of omics data efficiently, and provide a deeper insight into the genetic potential of each pathogen to answer the two points raised above. For foodborne pathogens, in addition to the virulence factors, data revealing how genetically, a microbe can persist in food matrices or any environment has significant impact on all levels of food safety.

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