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Biological Warfare in the Food Industry (Viruses as food additive)

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Crayson Donating Member (463 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 08:37 AM
Original message
Biological Warfare in the Food Industry (Viruses as food additive)

<http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/23/23390/1.html>

This article is about adding VIRUSES to food in order to kill certain bacteria affecting it.
FDA approved this!!!

Found on a German News Website and roughly translated by Google:

In the USA a virus mixture was approved for the first time against bacteria on the sausage as allegedly harmless food additive The US authority for food and supervision of medicament (FDA) granted viruses for the first time as additive of food. It concerns one mixes itself out of six bacteriophages kinds of virus, which fight the pathogen Listeria of monocytogenes transferable to humans on meat and poultry products.

The bacteria, which are destroyed when cooking and roasting, but low freezing and drying project, become from animals and animal products such as meat, milk or cheese, in addition, can lead transferred by vegetable and fruit to humans and particularly with weakened immune defense to the outbreak of the Listeriose. That is an illness with flu-similar symptoms, which can release also Meningitis. To treat Listeriose with antibiotics leaves itself, dangerously is it particularly for pregnant woman, infants and older as well as ill persons. In the USA annually 2,500 humans at Listeriose get sick, of it die to 500. After investigations of scientists of the society for biotechnological research (GBF) in Braunschweig and the University of pouring Listeria deliver a monocytogenes poison, which blocks the surface of human cells changed and defense mechanisms, whereby they can penetrate into the cells.

The request for grant of the viralen mixture, which is gesprayt on food, the company Intralytix had already placed to 2002. By the restriction of application to to the consumption prepared meat and sausage products permission was already given finally on 18 August. The mixture from six kinds of virus, which strike all Listeria of monocytogenes, is justified with the fact that so a resistance of the bacteria can be prevented. The six phages in bacterial cultures bred, then after dying the bacteria cleaned and into a salzhaltige solution for application brought. For application are to be applied before the packing of the meat and poultry products about 1 ml on 500 square centimeters. The virale food additive is called of the authority harmless, because phages strike only certain bacteria, in this case only Listeria M., but no planting or animal cells, because they are to be found everywhere and humans are permanently exposed to them without damage, particularly since phages exist also in the human body. Of the Toxins Listeriolysin (LLO) could represent a danger to arrears of the bacteria in form. However on the products after treatment and would not be also up to a quantity of 5 nano-gram per Milliliter not very precariously, particularly since in meat products Cholesterol is contained, the LLO was found makes to a considerable degree inactive. Besides LLO, if it is orally taken up by humans, in the intestine was diminished fast. With correct application also possible dangerous genes after the FDA, which lead the bacteriophages with itself, are harmless. Phages take up easily genes, why they are used also in the genetic engineering as vectors for the installation by genes. The genes found in the viralen mixture were all lytisch, thus the landlord cells would destroy and in their Genom would not integrate themselves.

Probably the customers in the USA are not informed whether the food bought by them was treated with the virus spray. Finally to regulate this must the Ministry Of Agriculture. Intralytix already sold a license according to own data to a multinational company, which virus-mix internationally to drive out wants. One did not call the name of the company with Intralytix. The company wants to request now permission for further products with bacteriophages, for example against E. coli and against Salmonellen. Bacteriophages could be suitable also as replacement for antibiotics, become increasingly immune to the bacteria.
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TechBear_Seattle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 08:42 AM
Response to Original message
1. The translation is pretty cruddy
Do you have a "written in English" version of the story, maybe on one of the news wires?
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Crayson Donating Member (463 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 08:48 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. Google Translation, sorry, but the meaning should be obvious...
... as should be the dangers of such practices.

I mean I'm no organic food fanatic, I just like fresh and healthy food.
But adding viruses to our food is something I definitely don't like.
And I specially don't like NOT BEING TOLD about it.

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heliarc Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 11:26 AM
Response to Reply #1
13. Ich habe das gelesen aber nicht understieren...
which is "Gesprayt" on food" ???? and about Sausages? That was the funniest!!!
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Double T Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 08:54 AM
Response to Original message
3. It is no wonder that the 'frankenfood' we purchase today.........
has little or no taste and who the hell knows what it is doing to our bodies, crops and environment; genetic engineering gone wild, NO THANKS!!
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heliarc Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 11:28 AM
Response to Reply #3
14. Entschuldegung?
Was ist passiert?
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acmejack Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 08:59 AM
Response to Original message
4. The english version was posted here Friday
Edited on Wed Aug-23-06 09:01 AM by acmejack
Sorry it is old news.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/08/18/edible.virus.ap/

edit I was wrong, it was Friday
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warrens Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 09:04 AM
Response to Original message
5. It's a virus commonly found in the digestive tract
It's specific to pathogenic bacteria, and has no effect on plant or animal cells.
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w4rma Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 09:11 AM
Response to Original message
6. WTF!! Viruses MUTATE! IDIOTS!
Edited on Wed Aug-23-06 09:13 AM by w4rma
And we have *nothing* really that fights viruses, but we have lots of tools to fight bacteria.
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mike_c Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 10:00 AM
Response to Original message
7. it's always discouraging to see the biological ignorance displayed...
Edited on Wed Aug-23-06 10:00 AM by mike_c
...on DU everytime a topic like this comes up. There are genuine reasons bacteriophages are being licensed-- pathogenic bacteria in food sickens and kills people EVERY DAY. We've overused antibiotics to the point where pathogens are becoming increasingly resistant. Phages are specific and effective. They're completely natural, and it's easy to produce phages specific to particular bacteria. Their use as disinfectants was proposed a long time ago, but was eclipsed by cheap antibiotics, to which many pathogens are now quite resistant. They've been used successfully in the Soviet Union for decades-- both for disease treatment and for food protection. The primary impediment to their use in the US has been difficulty copyrighting and patenting specific phages because they are easy to duplicate. Here's an informative article:

http://www.slate.com/id/2142626/

Knee jerk biological Luddism isn't very well informed.
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GeorgeGist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 11:03 AM
Response to Reply #7
10. Thank you...
as a scientist I'm embarassed by the uninformed 'scientific' opinions expressed on DU.
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Viva_La_Revolution Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 11:34 AM
Response to Reply #10
16. a teacher should never insult... it clouds the lesson
and no-one learns. hmmm?
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bicentennial_baby Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 11:18 AM
Response to Reply #7
11. Thank you!
:applause:
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Warpy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 10:03 AM
Response to Original message
8. Bacteriophages are VERY SPECIFIC viruses
that ONLY attack bacteria and ONLY the targeted species of bacteria.

Please don't get all hysterical at the word "virus."

You've been eating bacteriophages your whole life. This process will just boost the bacteriophages that attack common food borne bacteria like e coli and salmonella.

It's a lot safer than all the other crap they put into sausages.

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bleedingheart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 10:09 AM
Response to Reply #8
9. did you read the NY Times?
this past weekend in the magazine there was an article about how some types of bacteria actually help us digest our food and control what we retain...in some case they think that the amount or types of bacteria in your gut may actually cause obesity in some folks and may be part of the reason some people are so thin...

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diamidue Donating Member (606 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 11:20 AM
Response to Original message
12. Another reason I am happy that
I gave up eating processed, preservative-laden meats long ago. Nasty stuff.
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heliarc Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-23-06 11:29 AM
Response to Original message
15. Al ist Klar!
Edited on Wed Aug-23-06 11:30 AM by heliarc
Do the Robot!
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