A new study assessed the efficacy of a commercial lytic bacteriophage cocktail as a preharvest agricultural water treatment against Salmonella Infantis, and found modest but consistent pathogen reductions across diverse water conditions.
A laboratory study and large-scale commercial wheat mill trial demonstrated that a bacteriophage cocktail can significantly reduce Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 contamination throughout milling operations without affecting the baking qualities of flour.
A recent study has shown the potential of a bacteriophage cocktail for controlling nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica on chicken, while also emphasizing that, because phage efficacy is dependent on many variables, validating treatments for relevant application conditions is key.
Researchers at McMaster University have developed a new, highly effective tool to mitigate bacterial contamination of foods, including pathogens displaying antimicrobial resistance (AMR), that has great potential for food safety.
Increasing concerns of the overuse of antibiotics and the negative consumer perception of chemical preservatives in the food industry have spurred an interest for more "natural" antimicrobial compounds. Bacteriophage, also known as phage (/fãj/) fit into this growing category.
As consumers increasingly demand antibiotic-free meat and poultry (and processors look to avoid antimicrobial resistance), alternative treatment and disinfection methods such as bacteriophages should become more popular in food and medicine.
