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Bacteria pose important challenges to the meals business, from contaminating crops and livestock to jeopardizing ready-to-eat meals. To handle these considerations, a Swiss startup, NEMIS Technologies AG, is pioneering a brand new method to bacterial detection: bacteriophages, or just phages — viruses that infect and kill choose micro organism. Numerous research have demonstrated the potential of phages to regulate and eradicate pathogenic micro organism all through the meals manufacturing chain.

In a current interview with Food Safety News, Łukasz Richter, the product supervisor at NEMIS Technologies AG, highlighted the bacteriophages applied sciences developed by NEMIS.

“Phages — they’re viruses — specialized viruses that infect and kill only bacteria and bacteria alone,” Richter defined. 

Discovered in 1917 by Félix d’Hérelle, phages initially held promise as an answer to bacterial infections earlier than the appearance of antibiotics. However, with the rise of antibiotics, bacteriophages took a backseat, discovering prominence primarily within the former Soviet Union throughout the Cold War period.

Applications in Food Safety and Agriculture
With the rising risk of antibiotic-resistant micro organism, there’s renewed curiosity in bacteriophages. This resurgence — dubbed the Renaissance of Bacteriophages — extends to meals security. Richter emphasizes some great benefits of bacteriophages, citing their security for human consumption, ecological advantages, and outlined vary of bacterial targets.

Moreover, phages provide a possible answer to mitigate losses attributable to bacterial illnesses in livestock and crops. Antibiotics, historically used to regulate infections, have led to the unfold of antimicrobial resistance. However, research have proven that phages can successfully fight bacterial infections in animals. For occasion, phages remoted from dairy farm sewage demonstrated efficacy akin to antibiotics in treating mastitis in cows attributable to E. coli. O157:H7. Similarly, phages have proven promise in controlling pathogens equivalent to Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 in different animals.

In addition to stopping and treating animal and plant illnesses, phages play an important position in detecting and inhibiting the expansion of foodborne pathogens throughout meals processing. Researchers have engineered reporter phages for detecting pathogens like Listeria monocytogenes in contaminated meals gadgets equivalent to milk, chilly cuts, and lettuce. Phage options may also be utilized to meals surfaces to get rid of pathogens like Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria monocytogenes, with numerous industrial merchandise already out there.

The advantages of phage biocontrol embody their outlined host vary, guaranteeing focused motion towards pathogens whereas sparing helpful micro organism. Moreover, phages replicate, amplifying their efficacy in environments the place standard disinfectants could wrestle to achieve. Phages additionally provide a secure different to hazardous chemical compounds, preserving meals properties and style.

Collaborations with educational establishments, together with the University of Wigan within the Netherlands and ETH Zurich, a public analysis institute, have been instrumental in creating and refining NEMIS’s bacteriophage expertise. Professors Martin Luner and Lars Wisler, consultants in bacteriophages and meals security, have lent their experience to additional advance NEMIS’s initiatives.

NEMIS Technologies has leveraged bacteriophages to deal with challenges in meals security, notably in pathogen detection. Richter explains their progressive use of bacteriophages in enrichment broths to boost selectivity. By exactly focusing on problematic micro organism, NEMIS ensures correct detection with out interference from different microflora.

The progressive method of NEMIS Technologies AG integrates bacteriophage expertise to boost the detection of pathogens like Listeria monocytogenes. This expertise additionally ensures larger accuracy, safeguarding public well being and stopping foodborne sickness outbreaks.

Future outlook and challenges
Despite their potential, phages have limitations. Their outlined host vary could not cowl all strains of a bacterium, and bacterial resistance to phages stays a priority. However, ongoing analysis goals to deal with these challenges, together with creating phage mixtures and co-evolution experiments.

NEMIS Technologies AG goals to increase its platform expertise to embody detection strategies for extra pathogens, additional enhancing meals security practices worldwide. By leveraging the ability of bacteriophage expertise and interdisciplinary collaboration, NEMIS is driving significant developments in meals security, safeguarding public well being, and guaranteeing a safer meals provide chain for future generations.

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