Phage Against the Machine

If you thought food poisoning was just a matter of the occasional
stomach upset from a dodgy shrimp or two, the CDC has some
unsettling numbers for you: foodborne bacteria is responsible for
at least 48 million cases of illness, more than 130,000
hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths a year in the U.S. alone. And
those numbers aren't going down. But wait: a new fighter has
entered the ring! Say hello to the bacteriophage, a
small-but-mighty bacteria-busting virus that can wipe out entire
colonies of harmful pathogens—and that is starting to be sprayed on
packages of cold cuts near you. While most Americans haven’t heard
of phages (as they’re commonly called), they’ve been saving lives
in the former Soviet Union for decades now. So why has it taken so
long for the U.S. to get on board? How do these teeny-tiny bacteria
fighters work, and what’s their connection to Elizabeth Taylor and
chlorinated chicken? Should we—and could we—get our food systems on
the phage train? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
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