I found this in my local newspaper and it totally freaked me out...they
aren't even going to say who is putting that in their food? It makes me
never want to eat lunch meat. SCARY
<h2>FDA Approves Viruses for Treating Food</h2>
The Associated Press</font>
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.
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/p...article?AID=/2 0060819/APW/608190602
Edited by: rubysoho120
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