FDA Says Viruses Safe for Treating Meat
- From: "georgia" <jwissmille@xxxxxxx>
- Date: 1 Sep 2006 19:08:32 -0700
FDA Says Viruses Safe for Treating Meat
Associated Press
FORBES
August 18, 2006
By ANDREW BRIDGES
A mix of bacteria-killing viruses can be safely
sprayed on cold cuts, hot dogs and sausages to
combat common microbes that kill hundreds of people
a year, federal health officials said Friday in granting
the first-ever approval of viruses as a food additive.
The combination of six viruses is designed to be
sprayed on ready-to-eat meat and poultry products,
including sliced ham and turkey, said John Vazzana,
president and chief executive officer of manufacturer
Intralytix Inc.
The special viruses called bacteriophages are
meant to kill strains of the Listeria monocytogenes
bacterium, the Food and Drug Administration said in
declaring it safe to use on ready-to-eat meats prior
to their packaging.
The viruses are the first to win FDA approval for
use as a food additive, said Andrew Zajac, of the
regulatory agency's office of food additive safety.
The bacterium the viruses target 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 Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, 500 die.
Luncheon meats are particularly vulnerable to
Listeria since once purchased, they typically aren't
cooked or reheated, which can kill harmful bacteria
like Listeria, Zajac said.
The preparation of bacteriophages - the name is
Greek for "bacteria-eater" - attacks only strains of
the Listeria bacterium and not human or plant cells,
the FDA said.
"As long as it used in accordance with the
regulations, we have concluded it's safe," Zajac said.
People normally come into contact with phages
through food, water and the environment, and they
are found in our digestive tracts, the FDA said.
Consumers won't be aware that meat and
poultry products have been treated with the spray,
Zajac added. 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 FDA
had concerns that the virus preparation potentially
could contain toxic residues associated with the
bacteria. However, testing did not reveal the
presence of such residues, which in small quantities
likely wouldn't cause health problems anyway, the
FDA said.
"The FDA 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
FDA in 2002 to allow the viruses to be used as a food
additive. It has since licensed the product to a
multinational company, which intends to market it
worldwide, said Intralytix president Vazzana. He
declined to name the company but said he expected
it to announce its plans within weeks or months.
Intralytix also plans to seek FDA approval for
another bacteriophage product to kill E. coli bacteria
on beef before it is ground, Vazzana said.
Scientists have long studied bacteriophages as a
bacteria-fighting alternative to antibiotics.
.
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