Thread: FDA Says Viruses Safe for Treating Meat

In yet another stunning demonstration of callous disregard
for the health of American citizens, a pathetically weak and useless Food
and Drug Administration has given the green light to industry microbe
hunters to spray cold cuts, poultry and other meats with a mix of viruses
that are supposed to eat bacteria contaminating the meat without hurting
anyone in the process. Right.

And the best part? Meat producers won't have to tell
consumers which meats have been bathed in the viruses so everyone gets a
dose eating a hot dog at a baseball game or frying up some ham and eggs for
breakfast - whether they want it or not. And when Uncle Leo in the Bronx
drops dead from a mysterious infection after eating an italian sub at a
neighborhood picnic, the story will be: it wasn't the virus infected sausage
that did it, it was - A COINCIDENCE. (But if enough people drop dead after
eating virus infected meat, an enterprising drug company will probably
develop a food vaccine and convince the CDC to mandate it).

In America, apparently the only way consumers will be able
to protect themselves from FDA-sponsored contaminated meat is to become a
vegan or go organic. It's an expensive alternative but a small price to pay
to keep viruses, chemicals and hormones that don't belong in the food we eat
out of our bodies.


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.

Disclaimer: I have no financial or other interest in Intralytix Inc. aside from a now avocational interest in applied microbiology. I present the information below for the sole purpose of assisting my fellow ALIPAC members in being informed when they make choices about this technology.

OK. This is not the first time I've read of this. First, some background in bacteriophages.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteriophage

Important to note is "Phages are ubiquitous and can be found in many reservoirs populated by bacteria, such as soil or the intestine of animals. One of the densest natural sources for phages and other viruses is sea water, where up to 10^9 virions per millilitre have been found at the surface, and up to 70% of marine bacteria may be infected by phages."

The things are literally EVERYWHERE. On your desk surface, the sheets in your bed, the clothes you wear, the air you breath, the food you eat and the surface of your skin. Now, this very moment. In my previous career there were days when I would be literally covered in a soup of various bacteriphages specific to E. coli, which was the host organism for the production of the protein product I was working on.

Phages are specific for the host organism they infect. YOU are not the target. In this case Listeria monocytogenes ( http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap6.html) is the target organism. To the phage, you are just another mountain in the landscape.

Information on this product may be found here: http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/full/69/ ... type=HWCIT

I queried Intralytix for information beyond that presented in the OPs article, their VP of Research & Development Alexander Sulakvelidze responded and stated that the phages were isolated from the environment and have been extensively characterized. Mr. Sulakvelidze is also one of the cited authors in the article I have linked to above.

I concur that the food products that have been treated with this phage cocktail should be identified as such at the final consumer level. The same goes for the pesticides, herbicides and other ancillary production chemicals that go into our food stocks. That is why I primarily eat only organic foods, and read thoroughly the nutrition labels on all the processed foods I eat.

Personal opinion: I have some small reservations about this. I'd like to see what viable viron count is present in the food as it is digested. Having a phage specific to E. coli (one of our normal intestinal flora) present in high numbers could be most...distressing, akin to that experienced after a strong regime of oral antibiotics. As noted above, I'd also like to see the food products treated with this and similar technologies clearly identified for the end consumer. As too the presence of the phage itself, I have no concerns on that matter. I've known about, dealt with and no doubt consumed phages by the millions all my life. As have everybody else who does not live in a sterile bubble.