PhagePow(d)er
At a glance
- Project leader : Prof. Dr. Lars Fieseler, Dr. Askild Holck, Dr. Joël van Mierlo
- Project team : Silvan Wetzel, Dennis Wipfli
- Project status : completed
- Funding partner : EU and other international programmes (Eurostars)
- Contact person : Lars Fieseler
Description
Existing food safety processing aids, although mostly effective, can still not prevent antimicrobial resistance and disease outbreaks. This entails an enormous socio-economic burden due to morbidity, mortality, and product recalls. We aim to ensure food safety via bacteriophages (“phages”); which are the natural biological pesticides against bacteria. Phages infect and replicate in specific bacteria, eventually killing them. By choosing phages that specifically target pathogens, but are safe for beneficial bacteria, targeted products can be developed to eliminate harmful bacteria, and prevent foodborne illness. Traditionally, bacteriophage products are formulated in a liquid form. The Eurostars project aims to convert liquid bacteriophage solutions to powder form, which will enable the application of phages in dry powder products. As a result we will accomplish a sustainable, effective, and natural inhibition of food pathogens by using advanced bacteriophage technology. The main results of the project will be a finished technology platform for next generation productformulations. To achieve this, we will select specific bacteriophages and develop prototype products that will be validated for efficiency. in spice mixtures/marinades and dry-salted cold-smoked salmon.