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Food Safety Foodborne illness of
microbial origin continues to be a serious food safety problem
worldwide. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
has estimated 1 that foodborne pathogens cause approximately 76
million illnesses and 5,000 deaths each year in the United
States alone. At the present time, the leading causes of death
due to foodborne bacterial pathogens are Listeria and
Salmonella, followed closely by other foodborne pathogens such
as Escherichia coli (E. coli O157:H7, in particular) and
Campylobacter jejunii. Bacteriophages may provide a natural,
non-toxic, safe, and effective means for significantly reducing
or eliminating contamination of foods with specific pathogenic
bacteria, thereby eliminating the risk, or significantly
reducing the magnitude and severity, of foodborne illness caused
by the consumption of foods contaminated with those bacteria.
Intralytix has developed and is continuing to develop
bacteriophage-based products targeting some of the deadliest
foodborne bacterial pathogens, including L. monocytogenes and E.
coli O157:H7.
Listeria monocytogenes and ListShield™
Disease caused by L. monocytogenes
(listeriosis) has one of the highest fatality rates
(approximately 20%) among all foodborne bacterial diseases and,
therefore, is of particular concern for human safety. Several
outbreaks of foodborne listeriosis have been reported since
1980, when the bacterium was first associated with foodborne
transmission. A variety of contaminated foods, including
coleslaw, unpasteurized cheese, pasteurized milk, delicatessen
meat, and other ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products have been
reported to be sources of the etiologic agent. The high
fatality rate associated with listeriosis caused the United
States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Safety
Inspection Service of the United States Department of
Agriculture to establish a “zero tolerance” for L. monocytogenes
in RTE foods. However, eliminating L. monocytogenes from food
processing plants has proved to be a very difficult task, and
foods contaminated with L. monocytogenes have continued to be
important public health problem which have resulted in numerous
food recalls.
Intralytix has developed a
bacteriophage-based preparation, designated ListShield™, to reduce
or eliminate the risk of foodborne listeriosis. The preparation
consists of six naturally occurring bacteriophages isolated from
the environment and exhaustively studied and carefully selected
for inclusion in ListShield™ by Intralytix’s scientists. The
preparation, when sprayed onto RTE foods, significantly reduces
(usually by 100-1000-fold) contamination of those foods with L.
monocytogenes. ListShield™ is an all-natural product, and media
and components of animal origin are not used during its
preparation. Also, it does not contain preservatives or known,
potentially allergenic substances (wheat, milk, soy, etc.), and
it does not alter the general composition, taste, odor or color
of foods. On 18 August 2006, the FDA approved ListShield™ as an
additive for RTE foods (21 CFR §172.785). At the present time,
Intralytix is the only company in the world to have received FDA
approval for using a bacteriophage-based preparation as a food
additive. Intralytix considers ListShield™ to be one of the safest
and most environmentally friendly natural products for
significantly reducing the risk of foodborne human listeriosis
due to the consumption of contaminated RTE foods.
ListShield™ is a Star K-certified kosher
product, and can be used on all foods without affecting their
kosher designation.
Escherichia coli O157H:7 and EcoShield™
E. coli O157:H7 is a significant
contributor to foodborne illnesses worldwide. It has been
estimated to cause approximately 62,000 cases of foodborne
disease/year (and ca. 1,800 foodborne illness-related
hospitalizations/year) in the United States alone, at an annual
cost of ca. 0.7 billion dollars.
Intralytix has developed a new phage-based
product, designated EcoShield™, which is effective against E. coli
O157H:7. Similar to ListShield™, EcoShield™ is 100% natural, and it
does not contain preservatives or any known, potentially
allergenic substances. The product is highly effective in
reducing contamination of various foods (e.g., ground beef,
fruits, vegetables, etc.) with E. coli O157:H7, thus providing a
much-needed modality for significantly reducing or eliminating
contamination of various food products with the bacterium.
EcoShield™, is a Star K-certified kosher
product, and can be used on all foods without affecting their
kosher designation.
References:
1. Mead, P. S., Slutsker, L., Dietz, V., McCaig, L. F.,
Bresee, J. S., Shapiro, C., Griffin, P. M., and Tauxe, R. V.,
Food-related illness and death in the United States, Emerg
Infect Dis 5 (5), 607-25, 1999.
2. Buzby, J. C., Children and microbial foodborne illness, Food
Review 24, 32-37, 2001.
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