Whole genome sequencing is an emerging technology that is increasingly being used by academia, clinical, public health and food regulatory agency laboratories. It is now possible to sequence the genome of a bacterial strain in approximately one day at a cost of about $100 and the speed is increasing as the cost is going down. The technology is attractive because it may be used to identify, characterize and subtype microbes with precision like never before.  It is beginning to enter food laboratories, too. However, it is an emerging technology: sequencing platforms are constantly evolving as is the software that is used to analyze the data and interpretation of the data is rarely straight forward. In this symposium, the basics of the technology will be explained in layman terms, as will the analytical tools and how the technology could be beneficial to the food industry. Implementing a technology as complex as whole genome sequencing is a monumental task and if we want to be able to compare data between laboratories globally, a number of technical, logistical, political and ethical questions needs to be addressed and agreed upon internationally; these aspects will be dealt with by the so-called Global Microbial Identifier initiative. Finally, the public health and food regulatory experience with the technology will be presented as will how it is anticipated the technology will be used in food regulation.

Presentations