Public Health Safety of Bacteriophages in Ready-To-Eat Meats & Poultry Products
Introduction
Recently approval has been given by the USFDA for use of the combination of six bacterial viruses or bacteriophages as a food additive. These bacteriophages are to be used on ready-to-eat meats and poultry to kill strains of listeria monocytogenes prior to their packaging.
Listeria monocytogenes are of major public health concern because it can cause serious infection in pregnant women, newborns and adults with weaken immune systems. It has been estimated that 2,500 people become seriously ill with listeriosis each year. Hence there is a growing need to develop effective treatments against pathogenic microorganisms such as listeria monocytogenes. The approval of bacteriophages by the USFDA for use in ready-to-eat meats and poultry therefore serves to address this public health problem.