Use of omics methods for the advancement of food quality and food safety

Abstract

• Advancing food quality and food safety is critical for improving global food security and public health metrics. • Omics tools (i.e., genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) are robust tools to gain further insight into microbial communities along the food chain and their implications for human and animal health. • Whole genome sequencing facilitates early detection of foodborne illness outbreaks, including smaller clusters of related illnesses spanning over longer time periods, and microbial source tracking. • Omics approaches can provide insight into adaptation of microorganisms to specific niches along the food continuum and other strain-specific characteristics that affect human and animal health, including virulence genes and antimicrobial resistance.