PhageGuard Listex - Combat Food Factory Listeria using 100% organic Phage Technology

PhageGuard Listex is a 100% organic, food safe solution that can be applied directly to fresh produce (onions, lettuce leaves, broccoli, peppers, etc) as a safe, green solution to kill Listeria (including Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes)) that is on the product, without impacting the quality of the product. 

Listex has no effect on taste, colour, or smell, so there is no need for product reformulation; and as a processing aid, it does not require labelling. It is also harmless to everything but Listeria, so can be used continuously during production without any H&S concerns.

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Overview

Phages are naturally occurring predators of bacteria such as Listeria, Salmonellas and E-coli and are acknowledged as being the most diverse and abundant biological form of life on the planet. They are completely harmless to humans and animals and each phage targets and infects only one specific type of bacteria (e.g. Listeria genus phages combat Listeria).

Phages can be found everywhere that bacteria exist, including soil, plants, animals, our oceans and also our own skin which is home to millions of bacteria, fungi and phages that, combined, compose the skin microbiota. Phages are also contained within the human gut which is estimated to contains over a trillion phages.

Technical Facts

As the natural enemy of bacteria, phages can be used within food processing plants and food factories as an organic and harmless way to kill pathogens like Listeria, Salmonella and E-coli, whilst leaving good bacteria untouched. Phages are green, smart and easy to apply on food or food contact surfaces via spraying, misting or dipping.

PhageGuard Listex is the World’s first Food Processing Aid that is 100% organic, safe to humans and can combat a broad range Listeria strains and BioFilms. ESFA and FDA approved, it is trusted by hundreds of food factories across Europe. PhageGuard Listex has no effect on taste, colour, or smell, so there is no need for product reformulation; and as a processing aid, it does not require labelling. In addition, its harmless to everything but Listeria so can be used continuously during production without any H&S concerns..

 

Key Features

  Food safe water based solution that is 100% Organic (OMRI listed)
  Effective against all Listeria species
  Halal approved
  Used in food factories across Europe and US
  FDA approved
  EFSA concluded as "safe for use" on foods
  Can be used on production line equipment, packaging, or directly onto food products

Benefits of using PhageGuard Listex over traditional Listeria control methods

  Proven to kill Listeria and achieve a 1-3 log reduction on food
  Proven to kill Listeria and achieve a 3-5 log reduction on biofilms and process equipment
  No detrimental effect on personnel or equipment (non-corrosive) so can be sprayed 24/7 onto food and equipment
  More effective than hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, PAA and similar chemicals currently used
  No organoleptic influence on food products (i.e. no effect on taste, texture, odour or colour)
  No labelling required as PhageGuard Listex is defined as a processing aid
  Does not influence desired bacteria
  No trade-off between quality and safety
  No wastewater issues - harmless to everything but specific Listeria bacteria

 

 

How Phages Work  

Methods of Application

PhageGuard Listex is typically applied as follows:

  Sprayed directly onto the final food product

  Added to a dip tank of water which the final food product will flow through

  Sprayed onto the packaging that the food is enclosed in so that the solution engulfs the product and kills any Listeria traces

 

Where can PhageGuard Listex be used? 

PhageGuard Listex can be used in a number of food industries, including :

 

Effectiveness 

PhageGuard Listex has been successfully proven to kill Listeria on a wide range of food products including peppers, onions, cured ham, fish and soft cheeses.

 

Technical Specifications

Academic Studies 

PhageGuard Listex is supported by the following academic institutions :

 

Publications

Eliminating low numbers of Listeria monocytogenes on sliced deli meat using bacteriophages - Flemming Hansen and Tomas Jacobsen - Danish Technological Institute, Danish Meat Research Institute, Denmark (National Library of Medicine)

Efficacy of phage P100 on Listeria monocytogenes in refrigerated vacuum packaged cooked ham - Frank Devlieghere and Lieve Vermeiren - Ghent University, Belgium (Fleischwirtschaft.de)

Control of Listeria monocytogenes growth in soft cheeses by bacteriophage P100 - Elaine Nóbrega Gibson Silva, Ana Cláudia Leite Figueiredo, Fernanda Araújo Miranda and Rogeria Comastri de Castro Almeida - Federal University of Bahia, Brazil (Brazilian Journal of Microbiology)

Bacteriophage Significantly Reduces Listeria monocytogenes on Raw Salmon Fillet Tissue - Kamlesh A. Soni and Ramakrishna Nannapaneni - Mississippi State University, USA (Journal of Food Protection)

 

Endorsements

   

Technical FAQ's

What are the risks associated with using PhageGuard Listex?
There really aren’t any risks regarding using PhageGuard Listex to kill Listeria in your factory – its 100% organic, safe to use and has been proven to effectively kill Listeria

How long do does PhageGuard Listex work?
Phage activity is short lived and as such they are considered processing aids. Phage activity on foods is limited to 24 hours but the majority of killing the target bacteria is observed within the first hour after application.

Are there considerations for factory workers or equipment?
PhageGuard Listex does not react with anything other than its host bacteria, i.e.. Listeria.  It is odourless, tasteless and completely harmless to workers and equipment. 

What is the dose needed for killing bacteria?
Both bacteria and phages are incredibly small. To them the surface of foods is enormous. Phages move only through passive diffusion and this motion is random. Therefore one needs a critical dose to ensure that rare bacterial contaminations and phages meet one another. For most foodstuffs 107 phages per cm2 results in a >1log kill.

Under which conditions are phages functional?
Phages are stable and functional under almost all conditions encountered in food processing. They are functional within a wide range of pH and salt concentrations. They are however, very sensitive to denaturing and oxidizing chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, PAA and similar compounds. These substances react away quickly and phages can be applied after their use but combined use is not possible. Prolonged exposure to temperatures above 45°C should be avoided.

Will PhageGuard Listex be effective on all Listeria strains?
The phages in PhageGuard Listex have extremely broad host ranges and will infect all members of the Genus Listeria commonly associated with food processing facilities.

What’s the definition of a ‘food processing aid’?
The UK’s Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations 1995 defines a food processing aid as: ““processing aid” means any substance not consumed as a food by itself, intentionally used in the processing of raw materials, foods or their ingredients to fulfil a certain technological purpose during treatment or processing, and which may result in the unintentional but technically unavoidable presence of residues of the substance or its derivatives in the final product, provided that these residues do not present any health risk and do not have any technological effect on the finished product.

 

Want to trial?

We know most companies can’t introduce a new processing aid such as PhageGuard Listex without trialling it first. As such we offer all food factories a chance to trial the technology. Please contact us and one of our experts will run you through the information we require to arrange a trial at your site.

 

Pricing

PLEASE EMAIL OR CALL US ON 02392 299 100 TO CHECK IF YOU CAN USE PhageGuard Listex are your site, and to REQUEST A QUOTE

 

Salmonella and E-Coli Contamination?

Contact us to discuss using our Phaguard S and PhageGuard E solutions to combat Salmonella and E-Coli.  Both are 100% organic, food safe and powered by the same phage technology.

Additional Information & Questions

We are here to help so if you have any questions please contact us. There’s no hard sell or pressure – we simply want to answer any questions you have! You can then go back to your team and present the information and see if PhageGuard Listex is something your site wants to trial.

HALAL certificate – CLICK HERE 

OMRI certificate – CLICK HERE