Award for Bacteriophage Technology Insuring Food Safety

Bacteriophage (phage) technology developed to eliminate Listeria monocytogenes from meat and cheese products has received a 2006 Technology Innovation Award in the food safety market from Frost & Sullivan (Palo Alto, CA, USA).

The award was conferred on EBI Food Safety (The Hague, The Netherlands) for developing Listex P100, a phage preparation that can eliminate Listeria monocytogenes (LM) from cheese and meat products. The award recognized the company's efforts in developing its pioneering bacteriophage technology.

Listex is a natural product free from genetic modification, and is highly effective for controlling Listeria monocytogenes (LM), which cause miscarriages and are considered one of the most dangerous food borne diseases,” noted Frost & Sullivan research analyst Kasturi Nadkarny. "With phage technology poised to become an industry standard, EBI Food Safety's research and development efforts, as exemplified by its bacteriophage technology, have underlined its standing as a technology pioneer.”

Phages are viruses that target bacteria, rather than human, plant, or animal cells. For every bacterium, there is a phage that will attach to it, take over its life processes and multiply. The new phages burst out of the bacterial cell to attack other nearby bacteria and kill them. They have the potential to be the next big technologic advance in anti-bacterial agents that processors can use to ensure that their products do not leave the plant loaded with dangerous pathogens like Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Escherichia coli.

The problem of LM contamination is especially severe because the bacteria are invisible, and can multiply on refrigerated food. Listex P100 is a natural product, used as a processing aid. It can act upon a broad spectrum of LM strains, thereby reducing the chances of Listeria contamination.

EBI Food Safety is a privately held life sciences company, focused on the development and commercialization of new anti-bacterial agents, based on its bacteriophage technology. The company's scientific network includes collaborations with universities and research centers in The Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, and Italy.



Related Links:
Frost & Sullivan
EBI Food Safety