IAFP European Symposium
IAFP’s 13th European Symposium on Food Safety
Phageguard is proud to present its participation in the IAFP’s 13th European Symposium on Food Safety. Here Phageguard’ own Prof. Steven Hagens will present a full session around phages, discussing the possibilities and limitations of bacteriophage-based technology in biosensors and biocontrol in the food industry.
Application of Bacteriophages as an Antimicrobial Intervention and Detection Strategy in the Food Industry
Friday, 31 March 2017: 08:30-10:00
Arc (The Square)
Primary Contact: Joel van Mierlo
Organizer: Steven Hagens
Bacteriophages are the natural enemy of bacteria that have evolved to specifically bind and infect their host cells and then rapidly replicate, leading to lysis of the bacterial cell. Also, bacteriophages are safe to use on food surfaces, supported by the fact that several commercial bacteriophage products received the GRAS status from the FDA. These properties make them promising agents for both detecting bacteria in factories and food products (biosensors) and eradicating them from the food processing environment (biocontrol).The purpose of this session is to discuss the possibilities and limitations of bacteriophage-based technology in biosensors and biocontrol in the food industry. Therefore, the first part of the session reviews the different applications that have been proposed for biocontrol, both pre- and post-harvest, including a consideration of the effects of the food matrix and the potential for the development of phage resistance. In addition, the pros and cons of routine application of phage-based detection methods in the food industry is discussed. The second part of this session provides insight into the current commercial application of bacteriophages in food processing environments. Application data of bacteriophages on several types of food products is presented together with the challenges of transferring the technology from the laboratory to processing plants. The last part of this session discusses endolysins, which are bacteriophage-encoded cell wall-lytic enzymes (peptidoglycan hydrolases) that have recently gained attention as potential antimicrobial agents. These enzymes rapidly and specifically kill foodborne pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus, and are refractory to resistance. Proof of concept data of endolysin applications as biosensor and biocontrol, both in suspension and biofilm treatment, are presented.
All in all, this session presents an up-to-date view on bacteriophage technology, the newest antimicrobial intervention and detection strategy in food industry.
Presentations
08:30
Bacteriophage As a Food Safety Tool
Cath Rees, The University of Nottingham
09:00
Combating Listeria and Salmonella with Bacteriophages – from Bench to Factory
Steven Hagens, Micreos Food Safety B.V.
09:30
Bacteriophage Endolysins As Promising Tools for Detection and Control of Foodborne Pathogens
Mathias Schmelcher, ETH Zurich
About IAFP’s European symposium
Since 2005, IAFP’s European symposium has been shaping the future of food safety by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas with colleagues from across Europe working in industry, government and academia. The Symposium is an excellent forum to gain knowledge about the latest developments and techniques in food science and safety. The symposium will be held 29-31 March 2017 in Brussels, Belgium at the Square.