Natural Killers: Opportunities and Challenges for the Use of Bacteriophages in Microbial Food Safety from the One Health Perspective

Abstract

Ingestion of food or water contaminated with pathogenic bacteria may cause serious diseases. The One Health approach may help to ensure food safety by anticipating, preventing, detecting, and controlling diseases that spread between animals, humans, and the environment. This concept pays special attention to the increasing spread and dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which are considered one of the most important environment-related human and animal health hazards. In this context, the development of innovative, versatile, and effective alternatives to control bacterial infections in order to assure comprehensive food microbial safety is becoming an urgent issue. Bacteriophages (phages), viruses of bacteria, have gained significance in the last years due to the request for new effective antimicrobials for the treatment of bacterial diseases, along with many other applications, including biotechnology and food safety. This manuscript reviews the application of phages in order to prevent food- and water-borne diseases from a One Health perspective. Regarding the necessary decrease in the use of antibiotics, results taken from the literature indicate that phages are also promising tools to help to address this issue. To assist future phage-based real applications, the pending issues and main challenges to be addressed shortly by future studies are also taken into account.

Bacteriophage and non-pathogenic Vibrio to control diseases in shrimp aquaculture

“…The study yielded positive outcomes, including the evaluation of bacteriophage infectivity against Vibrio strains and the successful protection of shrimp against Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND) and bacterial challenges [ 91 ]. Field trials involving the use of cultured bacteriophages and non-pathogenic Vibrio demonstrated improved protection against infections, with minimal observed mortality during the adaptive research phase [ 92 ]. Morphological tests conducted on the shrimp indicated their overall health and well-being, as no abnormal deformities were detected.…”

Fighting Salmonella Infantis: bacteriophage-driven cleaning and disinfection strategies for broiler farms

“…Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of Salmonella phages in reducing Salmonella levels within the poultry industry. These investigations have revealed significant reductions in Salmonella colonization in the gastrointestinal tract of chickens, while simultaneously ensuring their health and well-being ( Lavilla et al, 2023 ). Additionally, research has explored the use of phages as a disinfectant to eliminate Salmonella from poultry drinkers, a critical point for Salmonella cross-infection ( Korzeniowski et al, 2022 ), as well as from cement floors where Salmonella exhibits high resistance to conventional disinfection methods ( Sevilla-Navarro et al, 2020a ).…”

Bacteriophage Delivery Systems for Food Applications: Opportunities and Perspectives

“…The use of phages has already been explored in some areas related to food, as a therapeutic agent, where phages are used to reduce pathogen colonization in living animals during primary production before slaughtering and also for sanitation purposes to disinfect food contact surfaces and equipment [ 48 ].…”