Approval, At Last

Abstract

In August 2006, Intralytix scored a landmark victory: the FDA approved the use of phages in prepared food. This was the first time the agency had officially declared phages to be safe in any product under its purview. “A mixture of six bacteria-killing viruses can be safely sprayed on meat and poultry to combat common microbes that kill hundreds of people a year,” announced the Associated Press, in a story that set a positive tone for the dozens of media reports that followed.