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| Issue 17, 2006 (24 August) |
| FDA Amends Food Additive Regulations for Meat and Poultry Products |
On 18 August, the Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule in the Federal Register amending the food additive regulations to provide for the safe use of a bacteriophage preparation on ready-to-eat meat and poultry products as an anti-microbial agent against Listeria monocytogenes. This food additive consists of a mixture of equal proportions of six individually purified phages. Each phage in the additive is specific against various L. monocytogenes strains, including those known to be associated with food-borne illness. The phage preparation is directly sprayed on the surface of the ready-to-eat food articles, at a level of approximately 1 millilitre of the preparation per 500 square centimetres of food surface area, just prior to packaging. After reviewing the toxicological data on this additive and other relevant information, the FDA concluded that the additive is safe.
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