Today, in terms of food safety and biocontrol, sales professionals promote phages as 'natural born killers'. This is mainly because bacteriophages feature unique and efficient mechanisms to specifically target and eliminate bacteria. According to the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, tailed phages are further separated into three distinct families. Bacteriophages can be applied to enhance the safety of food in different ways. The basis for the application of phages is their high specificity towards the bacterial host cell. Because phages absolutely rely on a particular host species to reproduce, mechanisms for precise host recognition have evolved. Even if phage application offers many advantages, bacteria may become resistant against infection by specific phages. The mechanisms of resistance can be different. Recombinant bacteriophage proteins feature a great biotechnological potential and may also be used for pathogen detection and control.