Advancing phage technology: Our response to the FAO & WHO report on produce safety

Recently a comprehensive report was published by The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) & World Health Organization (WHO), on the prevention and control of microbiological hazards in fresh fruits and vegetables.

Phageguard endorses and stands firmly behind the report and would like to answer the questions it has raised, providing our perspective. We believe phage technology is an invaluable tool for food business operators for now and especially the future.

Though bacteriophage technology is relatively novel for the EU, over the last 10 years Phageguard garnered significant data on its application, including validation and efficacy through industry trials.

The results rendered by these trials are favourable across the board, yielding reductions that often surpass 1 log. Listeria presence was found to become significantly reduced in green salads, iceberg lettuce, kiwi, apples, pears, melons (partly fruit juices) when using our products and similarly for the use of PGS reducing Salmonella risk in cucumber, zucchini and spinach. Furthermore reductions of E. coli were established in leafy greens such as romaine lettuce.

In terms of regulatory status, the global consensus is that Phageguard products are considered safe and classified as clean label processing aids.

For North America, our phage products are USDA- and FDA GRAS status approved for more than a decade. Phageguard L & Phageguard S are OMRI listed and comply with USDA's National Organic Program.

Governments, more and more pressing for higher food safety standards, increasingly recognize phage technology as an inevitable innovation to reach their standards. Industries demand approval for many different applications.  As such we notice a trend of approvals spreading at an increased rate across the world. Following the USA and Canada are Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Israel, Chile. Most recently Egypt joined to be expected to be followed by the Arabic world, among many other countries.

Unfortunately, the unclear legal situation in the EU hampers the application and spreading of phage technology.  There is light at the end of the tunnel: The European Court has ruled that there is no ban or prohibition on using bacteriophage products such as Phageguard as the EU did not decide against it. (Actually they did not take a decision at all).


Phageguard should qualify as food processing aid as accepted by the countries having allowed the current registration. Processing aids are exempted from food additive legislation, the latter regulated on EU member state level. For the UK, Phageguard products adhere to the UK’s Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations 1995. Furthermore, the EFSA has declared it safe as a preventative intervention. All in all there should be no legal withholding to the use of phages.

Phageguard has another EU court case ongoing: a. To prove the status of Listex as processing aid beyond any doubt and b. to show that the “EU assumptive rule” not to allow the use of phages on products of animal origin is based on the wrong assumptions.

It is beyond reason that the EU governmental bodies block an innovation which is proven to increase food safety and allows companies and governments to reach an even higher food safety level than ever before. Winning the case seems more important than the public need.

Direct link to the PDF report: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24888-7_21
On the need for and use of phages in the European Union, a novel legal approach.
by M. J. Estorninho and P. Teixeira. As published in Blue Planet Law - Part of the Sustainable Development Goals Series book series (SDGS).



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