ABSTRACT
Prevention of foodborne illnesses has become a major public health challenge as the number of foodborne disease cases and related costs climb each year. Most foodborne outbreaks are due to the transmission of pathogens from food animals/environments to humans via the fecal–oral route. Therefore, it is crucial to devise effective control strategies against foodborne pathogenic microorganisms in food and food environments. Lytic, host-specific bacteriophages – viruses which infect and lyse bacterial cells – can be an attractive alternative to control foodborne pathogens in food and food processing environments. Numerous studies have been conducted to exploit the biocontrol properties of bacteriophages. Multi-phage cocktails against a specific pathogen such as shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter, and Listeria monocytogenes can effectively reduce levels of bacterial pathogens in various food matrices and environments. Several commercial phage products have been approved for use as food additives or to enhance food safety in the United States and other countries in live animals, carcasses, raw and cooked meat products, ready-to-eat (RTE) products, fruit juices, milk, cheese, whole or fresh-cut fruits, and vegetables and sprouts.
