FSANZ calls for comment on Listeria bacteriophage preparation for food

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has called for submissions on an application for a bacteriophage preparation to reduce the risk of Listeria monocytogenes.

Micreos BV has applied for permission to use the bacteriophage, called P100, as a processing aid for ready-to-eat foods, to reduce levels of Listeria.

“FSANZ is proposing that P100 be approved for the surface treatment of solid ready-to-eat meat (including poultry) and meat products, cheese, fish and fish products and fruit and vegetables and their products,” said Steve McCutcheon, FSANZ chief executive officer.

FSANZ’s risk assessment of P100 said, “P100 was efficacious when applied in high concentrations (generally, > 108 plaque forming units/cm²), that are several orders of magnitude greater than the L. monocytogenes contaminant load on the food surface. The strategy applied is called a ‘single hit’ application which eliminates small numbers of bacterial cells by treating with a significantly greater concentration of bacteriophages.”

“There were no hazards identified which would preclude permitting the use of the P100 preparation to treat food for the stated purpose,” the assessment continued.

Having considered the possibility of P100-resistant mutations of Listeria, FSANZ concluded, “resistance development to phage treatment is minimal in food processing environments when appropriate user instructions are provided and adhered to.”

The United States, Canada and the Netherlands have all approved the use of bacteriophage preparations to treat food.

The FSANZ board intends to announce its decision in July.