Researchers target Campylobacter phage

The researchers, from University of Nottingham and Canadian biotech company GangaGen Life Sciences, plan to develop bacteriophage-based treatments targeting the pathogen.

With the increasing by consumer and regulator emphasis on food safety, and the prospect of costly recalls, fines and brand damage, processors are constantly on the lookout for quicker and cheaper ways of preventing bacterial contamination of their products.

A natural cleaning wash made of live bacteria could help meat processors and others get rid of pathogens from their products, avoiding the use of chemicals.

Bacteriophages are viruses that target bacteria, rather than human, plant or animal cells.

For every bacteria, there is a phage that likes to latch on to them, take over their life processes and multiply.

The baby phages then burst out to attack other nearby targets, killing the host cell.

Campylobacter is the commonest cause of infectious bacterial intestinal disease in England and Wales, according to the UK's Health Protection Agency.

Campylobacters are found in poultry and other animals and cause millions of cases of food poisoning worldwide.

Both GangaGen and the university claim to be leaders in bacteriophage research and view the technology as a vital breakthrough in the control of bacterial contamination and associated health risks.

Under the research agreement the two entities will pool their resources for at least three years to develop the new treatments, said Ian Connerton, a food safety scientist at the University of Nottingham.

"Our team's research has demonstrated that certain phages specific for Campylobacter can significantly reduce the load of the bacteria carried by poultry," he said.

"By implication, this should also reduce the risk to consumers by decreasing bacterial contamination of meat that is prevalent in poultry processing and is transferred to chicken meat on grocery shelves."

The two will develop a business relationship to commercialise the phage technology developed at the university to complement the existing GangaGen's expertise.

The move forms part of the university's programme to transfer its technology from academia into the commercial world.

GangaGen is a developer of therapeutics based on phage technology for the control of disease-causing bacteria.

The company is developing a portfolio of products for treating infectious disease in humans and animals.

GangaGen's food safety product portfolio also includes phage products against Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7.

Food-safety authorities in Europe and in North America recently released data showing that the contamination hazard due to Campylobacter remains high, and may be increasing because the pathogen has also started to demonstrate resistance to several common antibiotics, according to Rainer Engelhardt, GangaGen's chief executive.

"The combination of these two research teams provides strong impetus for creating a safe, effective and low-cost solution to this pernicious consumer health risk," he said.

According to an analysis by Frost & Sullivan, phage technology is poised to become an foodindustry standard for ensuring products do not leave processing plants laden with dangerous pathogens Frost & Sullivan forecast that US demand for antimicrobials - chemicals used to wash equipment and foods to ensure they are free of food borne pathogens - would reach $215.8m in 2012, from $161.7m in 2005.

Worldwide, food and non-food industries spend about €5.6bn a year on toxic chemicals that are only partially successful in blocking pathogens, according to estimates.

Other commercial companies are already in the bacmarket.

Netherlands-based EBI Food Safety has a Listex P100 bacteriophage product that last year received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use on cheese.

The approval was granted under the FDA's GRAS (Generally Recognised As Safe) procedure.