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LISTERIOSIS kills hundreds of people every year in Europe alone. The bacterium that causes it, Listeria monocytogenes, can contaminate all kinds of foods and keeps growing even in fridges. But if you live in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or Israel, you probably have a lower risk of infection because you are eating foods sprayed with a cocktail of viruses that kill listeria bacteria.
Bacteria-killing viruses, called bacteriophages, are increasingly being used to destroy harmful microbes during food processing, to stop food rotting and to treat plant and animal diseases on farms. One big advantage of this approach …