Control of Brochothrix thermosphacta Spoilage of Pork Adipose Tissue Using Bacteriophages

Greer, G. Gordon; Dilts, Bryan D.

doi:10.4315/0362-028x-65.5.861

Cited by 59 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…However, phage-resistant Brochothrix thermosphacta emerged on pork tissue 8 days after phage treatment; 20% to 65% of the isolates revealed resistance to the phages used (24). There is no doubt that the success of using phages against bacteria will depend on the emergence or persistence of resistance against the viruses, similar to the emergence of antibiotic resistance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virulent Bacteriophage for Efficient Biocontrol of Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-To-Eat Foods

Guenther

Huwyler

Richard

et al. 2009

Appl Environ Microbiol

405

289

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Food-borne Listeria monocytogenes is a serious threat to human health, and new strategies to combat this opportunistic pathogen in foods are needed. Bacteriophages are natural enemies of bacteria and are suitable candidates for the environmentally friendly biocontrol of these pathogens. In a comprehensive set of experiments, we have evaluated the virulent, broad-host-range phages A511 and P100 for control of L. monocytogenes strains Scott A (serovar 4b) and WSLC 1001 (serovar 1/2a) in different ready-to-eat (RTE) foods known to frequently carry the pathogen. Food samples were spiked with bacteria (1 ؋ 10 3 CFU/g), phage added thereafter (3 ؋ 10 6 to 3 ؋ 10 8 PFU/g), and samples stored at 6°C for 6 days. In liquid foods, such as chocolate milk and mozzarella cheese brine, bacterial counts rapidly dropped below the level of direct detection. On solid foods (hot dogs, sliced turkey meat, smoked salmon, seafood, sliced cabbage, and lettuce leaves), phages could reduce bacterial counts by up to 5 log units. Variation of the experimental conditions (extended storage over 13 days or storage at 20°C) yielded similar results. In general, the application of more phage particles (3 ؋ 10 8 PFU/g) was more effective than lower doses. The added phages retained most of their infectivity during storage in foods of animal origin, whereas plant material caused inactivation by more than 1 log 10 . In conclusion, our data demonstrate that virulent broad-host-range phages, such as A511 and P100, can be very effective for specific biocontrol of L. monocytogenes in contamination-sensitive RTE foods.Listeria monocytogenes is an opportunistic human pathogen, widely distributed in the environment and transmitted to humans and animals via contaminated foods (50). The organism is well adapted to very different environmental conditions encountered in foods; it tolerates high levels of salt content (10 to 20%), can grow at pH values below 6, with low oxygen, and at temperatures down to 1°C (48). L. monocytogenes causes listeriosis, a severe disease which may result in septicemia, meningitis, encephalitis, or loss of the fetus during pregnancy (52). Although listeriosis is comparatively rare compared to other food-borne infections, the high mortality rate of 15 to 40% is of great concern (49, 52). Cases of sporadic and epidemic listeriosis are increasing (4, 6, 11), and it has been estimated that about 2,000 hospitalizations and 500 deaths occur annually in the United States as a result of the consumption of Listeria in foods (39). Although many foods can serve as vehicles for this pathogen, Listeria was often isolated from ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, such as milk and cheeses, cold-cut meats, smoked fish, seafood, and vegetables (45). RTE foods have been implicated in most of the major listeriosis outbreaks in the last 30 years (13,18,20,21,42,(45)(46)(47). Of particular concern is the fact that they are consumed directly, without a final bactericidal processing step. Since the preservation methods applicable to minimally processed RTE foods of...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virulent Bacteriophage for Efficient Biocontrol of Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-To-Eat Foods

Guenther

Huwyler

Richard

et al. 2009

Appl Environ Microbiol

405

289

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“…40 However, some phage-insensitive Brochothrix thermosphacta emerged on pork adipose tissue 8 days after phage was added. 41 Altogether, the available data indicate that development of phage resistance on foods seems to be variable and hard to predict, but the probability and frequency seems to be relatively low. If there are no negative effects on fitness or growth rate, resistant bacteria might gain an advantage over non-resistant bacteria during the period that phage is present, and may eventually dominate the bacterial population on phage treated foods.…”

Section: Microorganisms Listeria Monocytogenesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacteriophage biocontrol ofListeria monocytogeneson soft ripened white mold and red-smear cheeses

2011

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“…They also can reduce the bioburden on produce of those bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics (18). Homologous phages and bacteriophage pools have been used against spoilage bacteria on meat (12,13,14). To reduce the potential for the development of phage-resistant mutants, we applied a cocktail of different phages.…”

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confidence: 99%

Biocontrol of Listeria monocytogenes on Fresh-Cut Produce by Treatment with Lytic Bacteriophages and a Bacteriocin

Leverentz

Conway

Camp

et al. 2003

Appl Environ Microbiol

392

220

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The fresh-cut produce industry has been the fastest-growing portion of the food retail market during the past 10 years, providing consumers with convenient and nutritious food. However, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables raise food safety concerns, because exposed tissue may be colonized more easily by pathogenic bacteria than intact produce. This is due to the higher availability of nutrients on cut surfaces and the greater potential for contamination because of the increased amount of handling. We found that applied Listeria monocytogenes populations survived and increased only slightly on fresh-cut Red Delicious apples stored at 10°C but increased significantly on fresh-cut honeydew melons stored at 10°C over 7 days. In addition, we examined the effect of lytic, L. monocytogenes-specific phages via two phage application methods, spraying and pipetting, on L. monocytogenes populations in artificially contaminated fresh-cut melons and apples. The phage mixture reduced L. monocytogenes populations by 2.0 to 4.6 log units over the control on honeydew melons. On apples, the reduction was below 0.4 log units. In combination with nisin (a bacteriocin), the phage mixture reduced L. monocytogenes populations by up to 5.7 log units on honeydew melon slices and by up to 2.3 log units on apple slices compared to the control. Nisin alone reduced L. monocytogenes populations by up to 3.2 log units on honeydew melon slices and by up to 2.0 log units on apple slices compared to the control. The phage titer was stable on melon slices, but declined rapidly on apple slices. The spray application of the phage and phage plus nisin reduced the bacterial numbers at least as much as the pipette application. The effectiveness of the phage treatment also depended on the initial concentration of L. monocytogenes.

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Control of Brochothrix thermosphacta Spoilage of Pork Adipose Tissue Using Bacteriophages

Cited by 59 publications

References 11 publications

Virulent Bacteriophage for Efficient Biocontrol of Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-To-Eat Foods

Virulent Bacteriophage for Efficient Biocontrol of Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-To-Eat Foods

Bacteriophage biocontrol ofListeria monocytogeneson soft ripened white mold and red-smear cheeses

Biocontrol of Listeria monocytogenes on Fresh-Cut Produce by Treatment with Lytic Bacteriophages and a Bacteriocin

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