Bacteriophages to control bacteria

An FSA-funded review of the potential use of bacteriophages on foods, carried out by Campden BRI, has recently been published on the Food Standards Agency website (http://bit.ly/fsareview).

This project assessed the available information on the current and potential uses of viruses (bacteriophages) in food production to reduce the level of microbiological contamination (e.g. food pathogens or spoilage organisms), thus increasing consumer protection and/or increasing the shelf life of food.

It was considered unlikely that a single bacteriophage would be effective against all strains of a particular bacterial species, and that a ‘cocktail’ of bacteriophages may be necessary to reduce bacteria levels. The use of a bacteriophage with other antimicrobial treatments (e.g. nisin) often resulted in an improved 'kill' of the target bacteria.