Register for our next Food for Thought webinar: Are organic and free range foods safer or riskier for microbes and antibiotic resistance?

Food Standards Agency UK sent this bulletin at 22-12-2025 04:35 PM GMT

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FSA Food for Thought seminar: Are organic and free range foods safer or riskier for pathogens and antibiotic resistance?

Dear Subscriber,

You are invited to attend the upcoming Food for Thought seminar

What: Are organic and free range foods safer or riskier for pathogens and antibiotic resistance?

When: Wednesday 28 January, 12pm to 1pm.

Where: Online - This seminar will be held via Microsoft Teams Webinars. Please register using the link below.

Synopsis

Does ‘natural’ mean safer? Food is produced in different ways: extensive (organic and free‑range), intensive (conventional), and wild‑caught. These systems use different antimicrobial stewardship (how antibiotics and other antimicrobials are used and managed) and animal husbandry practices (how animals are raised and cared for). Those differences may shape the microbes found on retail foods and their antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

This seminar explores the question: are retail foods from different production systems associated with different AMR risks? Drawing on data from his PhD project, Sam Mellor examine the microbial populations on foods from each system and assess whether production method relates to AMR risk.

Biographies

Sam Mellor, PhD student at Quadram Institute Bioscience

During his PhD at the Quadram Institute, Sam developed an interest in the transmission of antimicrobial resistance and bacterial pathogens within food systems. In 2024, he spent three months interning in the FSA microbial risk assessment team, where he conducted a systematic review on the source attribution of four UK foodborne pathogens.

Register for seminar (opens in web browser)

Disclaimer: Food for Thought topics and the opinions expressed within the content do not represent the views of the Food Standards Agency.

The Food for Thought team welcome your feedback on the seminar series. Additionally, we welcome suggestions for future potential speakers. Please contact the team via email.

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