Image from MicrobeWiki.

What now? A virus mix injected into food to kill Listeria. I wonder what they’re calling this combo — the Intralytix blend? Virus smoothie? Anti-bacteria frappe? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know the FDA approved this, and supposedly it’s safe and effective. But when you read other news items like this one, you really have to think about your safety threshold and how much you’re going to trust these government agencies.

Some excerpts from the Baltimore Sun article:

After four years of review, the Food and Drug Administration said the antimicrobial combination was safe and works in deli meats and other ready-to-eat foods.

John Vazzana, chief executive officer of Intralytix, described the approval of the mixture as a “huge milestone” in the fight against bacteria and antibiotic-resistant bacteria that cause food-borne illnesses. The viruses, he said, “are very specific, and they won’t kill or destroy any other organism that is there. The only thing they will do is kill their target bacteria.”

Before final processing, food manufacturers would spray the mixture on sliced ham, turkey and other foods that usually aren’t cooked or reheated before eaten. Cooking and reheating, as well as processing, kills the Listeria bacteria, but foods can become contaminated after processing or even while sitting in a refrigerator.

Also, the agency found Intralytix’s recipe safe and effective even among men in their 20s, who eat the largest quantities of ready-to-eat foods and consequently would ingest the largest amounts of the viruses.

Well, I’m glad I’m not a man in my 20s. And we hardly ever buy any deli meat anymore. What does concern me a bit is this:

In its application for FDA approval, Intralytix said it would purify the viruses during manufacture to reduce any potential for allergic reactions.

Man. Don’t allergy-sufferers already have enough to worry about? Now they have to add this to the list? What if you were a man, aged 25, love ham, and have allergies? I guess you’ll just have to do the sensible thing: eat your veggies and your fruits, cut down on that ham, or make your own, and avoid the deli meat counter like the plague. Of course, it’s sensible not just for that particular demographic.