"Smart markets": harnessing the potential of new technologies for endemic and emerging infectious disease surveillance in traditional food markets

Emerging and endemic zoonotic diseases continue to threaten human and animal health, our social fabric, and the global economy. Zoonoses frequently emerge from congregate interfaces where multiple animal species and humans coexist, including farms and markets. Traditional food markets are widespread across the globe and create an interface where domestic and wild animals interact among themselves and with humans, increasing the risk of pathogen spillover. Despite decades of evidence linking markets to disease outbreaks across the world, there remains a striking lack of pathogen surveillance programs that can relay timely, cost-effective, and actionable information to decision-makers to protect human and animal health. However, the strategic incorporation of environmental surveillance systems in markets coupled with novel pathogen detection strategies can create an early warning system capable of alerting us to the risk of outbreaks before they happen. Here, we explore the concept of "smart" markets that utilize continuous surveillance systems to monitor the emergence of zoonotic pathogens with spillover potential.IMPORTANCEFast detection and rapid intervention are crucial to mitigate risks of pathogen emergence, spillover and spread-every second counts. However, comprehensive, active, longitudinal surveillance systems at high-risk interfaces that provide real-time data for action remain lacking. This paper proposes "smart market" systems harnessing cutting-edge tools and a range of sampling techniques, including wastewater and air collection, multiplex assays, and metagenomic sequencing. Coupled with robust response pathways, these systems could better enable Early Warning and bolster prevention efforts.

Contamination of Proteus mirabilis harbouring various clinically important antimicrobial resistance genes in retail meat and aquatic products from food markets in China

Proteus mirabilis is an opportunistic pathogen frequently associated with nosocomial infection and food poisoning cases. Contamination of P. mirabilis in retail meat products may be important transmission routes for human infection with P. mirabilis. In this study a total of 89 P. mirabilis strains were isolated from 347 samples in 14 food markets in China and subjected to whole-genome sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all 89 strains were divided into 81 different clones (SNPs >5), indicating high genetic diversity of P. mirabilis in food markets. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that 81 (91.01%) strains displayed multidrug resistance profiles. Seventy-three different resistance genes (or variants) were found, including various clinically important antimicrobial resistance genes aac(6')-Ib-cr (77.53%), bla _CTX-M (39.33%), fosA3 (30.34%), as well as multiresistance gene cfr (4.50%), tigecycline resistance gene cluster tmexCD3-toprJ1 (4.50%) and carbapenemase gene bla _NDM-1 (1.12%). Diverse genetic elements including Tn7 transposon, plasmid, SXT/R391 integrative conjugative element were associated with the horizontal transfer of cfr. tmexCD3-toprJ1 and bla _NDM-1 were located on ICEPmiChnJZ26 and Salmonella genomic island 1, respectively. Our study emphasized high contamination of P. mirabilis harbouring various clinically important antimicrobial resistance genes in retail meat and aquatic products, which might be an important issue in terms of food safety and human health.

Is no news bad news? The impact of disclosing COVID-19 tracing information on consumer dine out decisions

Food markets around the world have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic via consumer behavior upended by fear of infection. In this article, we examine the impact of disclosing COVID-19 contact tracing information on food markets, using the restaurant industry in China as a case study. By analyzing transaction data at 87 restaurants across 10 cities, we estimate difference-in-difference (DID) models to ascertain the impact of COVID-19 infections and contact information tracing on economic activity as measured by a daily number of transactions. Empirical results show that while the overall number of new COVID-19 infections at the national level caused a dramatic drop in numbers of transactions in all restaurants, restaurants in cities that disclosed contact tracing information of COVID-19 infections experienced a 23%-35% higher number of transactions than the ones in cities that did not disclose such information during the recovery period. Ultimately, we show that in the absence of a shelter-in-place mandate, disclosing contract tracing information to mitigate consumers' uncertainties about risks of being infected can contribute to a faster recovery of food markets, in addition to reducing COVID-19 infections.

Food Markets: A Motivation-Based Segmentation of Tourists

Food markets are becoming popular as new spaces for recreation, and this research aims to discover the motivations driving the tourists that visit these markets. Factorial analysis, cluster analysis and Student's t-test were applied on 456 surveys from two food markets in Córdoba (Spain). Three motivational factors were obtained: Gastronomic experience and novelty; hedonism and leisure; and the relationship of the experience with work. Segmenting and analyzing the profile of the tourist may help economic agents develop new strategies for the tourism management of a destination and more accurate marketing and branding strategies that target specific customers with a niche message. The study could help develop products that align with tourists' motives to increase satisfaction and loyalty.

Biodiesel from waste cooking oil in Mexico City

The aim of this article is to evaluate the potential use of biodiesel produced from waste cooking oil in Mexico City. The study is divided in two main areas: the analysis of a waste cooking oil collection pilot project conducted in food markets of a Mexico City region; and the exhaust emissions performance of biodiesel blends measured in buses of the Mexico City public bus transportation network (RTP). Results from the waste cooking oil collection pilot project show that oil quantities disposed depend upon the type of food served and the operational practices in a cuisine establishment. Food markets' waste cooking oil disposal rate from fresh oil is around 10%, but with a very high standard deviation. Emission tests were conducted using the Ride-Along-Vehicle-Emissions-Measuring System in two different types of buses while travelling a regular route. Results shows that the use of biodiesel blends reduces emissions only for buses that have exhaust gas recirculation systems, as analysed by repeated measure analysis of variance. The potential use in Mexico City of waste cooking oil for biodiesel is estimated to cover 2175 buses using a B10 blend.