FDA approves Viruses as Food Additive
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08.24.06
2500 people get Listeriosis each year in America; 500 die. Listeria is a type of bacteria that is common in nature and can contaminate food easily. Measures to prevent it include washing vegetables and using clean knives and cutting boards, but we know that doesn't always happen so the world needs a high-tech solution, right? Consequently for the first time the Food and Drug Administration has approved the spraying of hot dogs, sausages and luncheon meats such as sliced ham and turkey, with a cocktail of viruses. According to CNN: "Consumers won't be aware that meat and poultry products have been treated with the spray....The viruses are grown in a preparation of the very bacteria they kill, and then purified. The FDA had concerns that the virus preparation potentially could contain toxic residues associated with the bacteria. However, testing did not reveal the presence of such residues, which in small quantities likely wouldn't cause health problems anyway, the FDA said." The bacteriophage (bacteria eating) viruses theoretically do not attack human or plant cells so we are supposed to be safe; We would prefer that our lunch was prepared properly rather than sprayed with viruses. What are they thinking? ::CNN
Thank you monsanto(probably) for making another great product that is in the best interest of man kind and the earth. 500 lives theoretically saved and money in the bank.
just another reason not to buy hot dogs, and other processed foods.
i can see it now:
"whoops! how did that aids get in there?"
Great, just what mankind needs- cultured virii. Doesn't anyone contemplate their propensity for mutation? Ingesting virus doesn't sound appealing to me, it sounds like the Andromeda Strain gone wrong.
Bacteriophage were not created by monsanto. They have been used for decades by the Russians. Before the age of antibiotics, bacteriophages were the hot thing. The Russians did not adopt antibiotics as quickly as the rest of the world and instead continued their research and development of bacteriophages.
The idea is simple. Viruses adapt as quickly as bacteria. The thing is, they can't infect plant or animal cells. They simply do not have the necessary proteins to bind to plant or animal cell membranes.
Seriously. They sound scary because of the word "virus", but they aren't. They occur in nature wherever bacteria are found.
This is sweet. They should develop bacteriaphages against salmolena too.
[quote]Great, just what mankind needs- cultured virii. Doesn't anyone contemplate their propensity for mutation? Ingesting virus doesn't sound appealing to me, it sounds like the Andromeda Strain gone wrong.[/quote]
Hmmm ever hear of vaccines?
The Engineer-Poet who owns the Ergosphere blog should run for president. His platform could be, The electrolization of American transportation. Seriously, we need a change.
Using viruses to protect against bacteria is a better and more organic solution than antibiotics. It's absolutley true the these viruses are harmless to humans and I've seen photo evidence of the value of medical bacteriophage treatment in the former Soviet Union. As a molecular biologist I can say that while cleanliness is a better solution, these viruses pose no health risk and may be safer than the current widespread use of antibacterial agents such as triclosan.
seriously folks, we ingest and inhale countless amounts of bacteria and viruses everyday. Most are harmless, some cause us to get the sniffles, fewer cause our organs to turn to jello and ooze out of our orafaces. When we know that a virus won't hurt us, and that we can employ it for our benefit, lets put the little bugger to work.
Aside from the scare factor of using viruses to treat food, as pointed out above, we already inject ourselves with vaccines that are probably more harmful than this situation.
It's about time we begin using their (virus) machinery for good things. People have had their genetic code changed using engineered viruses to cure diseases such as sickle-cell and immunodeficiency disorders. Sounds like some people could pick up a microbio book or two.
Umm. How about not eat rotting corpses that are breading grounds for disease, bacteria and parasites in the first place? That have to be either nuked each time before you eat it or soaked in a chemical soup of anti-biotics and anti-bacterials just so it won't kill you?
Not only are these "foods" not earth friendly and energy, resource, greenhouse gasing and waste intensive, but they're not very safe either!
Is anyone even thinking that this is the possibility as to why now there is an e-coli situation? When did they start this spraying of the foods? Where have they done it so far? Is it possible to get an apparent reaction to this contamination of our edible foods by the FDA? I Wonder!!