The EFSA Journal (2009) 1076, 1-26 © European Food Safety Authority, 2009 SCIENTIFIC OPINION The use and mode of action of bacteriophages in food production 1 Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Biological Hazards (Question No EFSA-Q-2008-400) Endorsed by the BIOHAZ Panel for public consultation 22 January 2009 Public consultation 30 January – 6 March 2009 2 Adopted on 22 April 2009 PANEL MEMBERS Olivier Andreoletti, Herbert Budka, Sava Buncic, Pierre Colin, John D Collins, Aline De Koeijer, John Griffin, Arie Havelaar, James Hope, Günter Klein, Hilde Kruse, Simone Magnino, Antonio, Martínez López, James McLauchlin, Christophe Nguyen-The, Karsten Noeckler, Birgit Noerrung, Miguel Prieto Maradona, Terence Roberts, Ivar Vågsholm, Emmanuel Vanopdenbosch SUMMARY Following a request from the Health and Consumer Protection, Directorate General, European Commission, the Panel on Biological Hazards was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on “The use and mode of action of bacteriophages in food production”. In accordance with the terms of reference, this report does not consider the safety assessment of the use of bacteriophages on foods. Modern microbial food safety assurance is based on a farm-to-fork principle that involves a wide range of coordinated control measures applied at all relevant steps in the food chain. A large number of different food decontamination treatments have been described in the literature. Some of them involve the application of live microorganisms to inhibit or eradicate pathogenic and/or spoilage bacteria in/on foods. To this regard, the use of bacteriophages has recently attracted a growing interest. This Opinion deals only with bacteriophage-based 1 For citation purposes: Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Biological Hazards on a request from European Commission on The use and mode of action of bacteriophages in food production. The EFSA Journal (2009) 1076, 1-26 2 A table of comments received during the public consultation and a report of the public consultation are available at http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/efsa_locale-1178620753812_1211902525399.htm .