A benign bacterium shows promise in blocking Salmonella from colonizing raw tomatoes, research shows. When applied to Salmonella-contaminated tomato plants in a field study, the bacterium, known as Paenibacillus alvei, significantly reduced the concentration of the pathogen compared to controls. “This bacterium also has no known history of human pathology, making it a great candidate as a biological control agent,” says a corresponding author.