Food and Beverages

Biography

Biography: Joelle Woolston

Abstract

Interest in using bacteriophages to improve food safety has been gaining momentum recently, driven by both the continued occurrence of foodborne outbreaks worldwide and the desire of consumers for natural foods.  Bacteriophages are naturally part of the normal microflora of many foods, and the ‘phage biocontrol’ approach is based on the concept of using the right phage, in the right place, in the right concentration, to control foodborne pathogens.  This approach has been applied to three main areas of food safety: (i) pre-harvest treatment of livestock, (ii) decontamination of inanimate surfaces in the processing environment, and (iii) post-harvest treatment (i.e. direct food applications).  The last type of intervention has perhaps received the most attention, with an increasing number of studies supporting the idea that bacteriophages may provide a safe, environmentally-friendly, and effective approach for improving food safety, by significantly reducing contamination of various foods with specific foodborne bacterial pathogens.

Bacteriophages can reduce levels of the targeted bacterial pathogen on a variety of foods, including, but not limited to, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, and poultry.  This presentation will review the use of bacteriophage biocontrol as a food safety measure, in both human and pet foods, as well as discuss regulatory and safety issues concerning their use.  

Figure 1SalmoLyse® reduces Salmonella contamination on various food surfaces: There was significant reduction in Salmonella on all food surfaces with the addition of SalmoLyse® compared to the controls; A= chicken; B= lettuce; C= tuna; D= cantaloupe; E = ground turkey.