FAGOSASUN

Context and needs

Listeria monocytogenes is the foodborne pathogen of greatest relevance for public health and socio-economic development worldwide as it is responsible for listeriosis, one of the five most frequent zoonotic diseases in Europe, and the most serious worldwide due to its high mortality rate.
The increasing trend in the number of confirmed cases in recent years is of great concern to the public health sector and the food industry.

In addition, climate change and global warming favor the growth and prevalence of this pathogen in food processing and transformation facilities, so the food industry demands the implementation of new anti-Listeria strategies, effective, safe and complementary to the existing ones, in order to minimize the occurrence of this pathogen in the food production chain.

Provided solution

The use of bacteriophages (phages) as an alternative or complementary strategy to the preservation, decontamination, disinfection and/or sanitization systems, currently available in the food industry, shows a great potential for the biological control (biocontrol) of this pathogen in the food processing environment and the final food, in order to guarantee a high level of protection for consumers.

The FAGOSASUN project will optimize and validate the application of an innovative and natural solution, based on the combination of specific phages against L. monocytogenes, in different food products. Through effective collaboration with food industries, potential end users of the developed solution, and a biotechnology industry specialized in the development of bacteriophage-based products, this project will be focused on generating and transmitting new knowledge on how to use this innovative biocontrol tool safely and effectively in conditions relevant to the food industry, with the ultimate goal of ensuring food safety and protecting consumer health.

Objectives

The overall objective of this project is to facilitate access to safe food by developing and validating an innovative biotechnological tool, based on the use of naturally occurring bacteriophages, for the efficient control of Listeria monocytogenes in the food industry, thus contributing to the reduction of the risk of foodborne zoonoses caused by this pathogen and the associated significant economic losses for public health and the food industry.