"processed meat" news and stories

The FDA has just approved the a mixture of viruses, bacteriophages, to be used to kill bacteria commonly found in foods, marking the first time that a virus has been approved as a food additive. The mixture contains strains of six different bacteriophages designed to fight Listeria monocytogenes, the bacteria that cause listeriosis, a disease which sickens about 2,500 people per year and kills 500. Listeriosis primarily affects pregnant women, women who have just given birth and infants, in addition to other people who have weakened immune systems for one reason or another. The bacteria is found mostly in packaged, processed meat products, so the additive will be used on cold cuts, various sausages and other "ready to eat" meat products.

The FDA imposed its strictest standards to scrutiny to this additive, developed by a company called Intralytix, and is confident that the bacteriophages are safe. The Department of Agriculture will regulate and supervise the use of the additive. A spokesman for the Office of Food Additive Safety at the FDA says that " consumers will not be aware which meat and poultry products have been treated with the spray."

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This is the part where I plug my ears and mumble "bacon is healthy, bacon is healthy, bacon is healthy." Swedish researchers have reviewed 15 different studies and concluded that eating an extra ounce of salted or smoked meat a day can increase the risk of developing stomach cancer by 15 to 38 percent. The data comes from figures taken from over 4,000 individuals in the last 40 years, Reuters reported. The study appears in the current issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. An abstract is available here.