xpost sci.med.nutrition,sci.bio.food-science

Enjoy! ;)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/19/us/19viruses.html
Agency Approves First Use of Viruses as a Food Additive

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 19, 2006
WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 (AP) - A mix of bacteria-killing viruses may be
sprayed on cold cuts, wieners and sausages to combat common microbes
that kill hundreds of people a year, federal health officials ruled
Friday.

The ruling, by the Food and Drug Administration, is the first approval
of viruses as a food additive, said Andrew Zajac of the Office of Food
Additive Safety at the agency.

Treatments that use bacteriophages to attack harmful bacteria have been
a part of folk medicine for hundreds of years in India and for decades
in the former Soviet Union.

The approved mix of six viruses is intended to be sprayed onto
ready-to-eat meat and poultry products, including sliced ham and
turkey, said John Vazzana, the president and chief executive of
Intralytix, which developed the additive.

The viruses, called bacteriophages, are meant to kill strains of the
Listeria monocytogenes bacterium, the food agency said.

The bacterium can cause a serious infection called listeriosis,
primarily in pregnant women, newborns and adults with weakened immune
systems. In the United States, an estimated 2,500 people become
seriously ill with listeriosis each year, according to the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, 500 die.

Luncheon meats are particularly vulnerable to Listeria because after
they are bought they are typically not cooked or reheated, which can
kill harmful bacteria like Listeria, Mr. Zajac said.

The preparation of bacteriophages - the name is from the Greek for
"bacteria eater" - attacks only strains of the Listeria bacterium
and not human or plant cells, the food agency said.

"As long as it used in accordance with the regulations, we have
concluded it's safe," Mr. Zajac said.

People normally come into contact with bacteriophages through food,
water and the environment, and they are found in our digestive tracts,
the agency said.

Consumers will not be aware which meat and poultry products have been
treated with the spray, Mr. Zajac said. The Department of Agriculture
will regulate the actual use of the product.

The viruses are grown in a preparation of the very bacteria they kill,
and then purified. The food agency had concerns that the virus
preparation could contain toxic residues from the bacteria, but testing
did not reveal residues, which in small quantities are not likely to
cause health problems anyway, the agency said.

"The F.D.A. is applying one of the toughest food-safety standards
which they have to find this is safe," said Caroline Smith DeWaal,
director of food safety for the Center for Science in the Public
Interest, a consumer advocacy group. "They couldn't approve this
product if they had questions about its safety."

Intralytix, based in Baltimore, first petitioned the food agency in
2002 to allow the viruses to be used as an additive. It has since
licensed the product to a multinational company, which intends to
market it worldwide, Mr. Vazzana said.

===