Characterization of the novel staphylococcal bacteriophage and investigation of it's decontamination potential for food safety

Foodborne diseases are one of the important healthcare issues in the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) one in every ten person becomes ill and approximately 420 000 people die due to contaminated food each year, worldwide. Among these diseases 72% is caused by pathogenic bacteria. It is already well established that food can be contaminated by bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, through contaminated raw and packaging materials, food contact surfaces, personnel and etc. Food manufacturers are widely using cleaning/sanitizing chemicals to achieve proper hygiene standards. On the other hand these agents may represent chemical hazard and contaminate food. Thus using effective as well as safe sanitation and biocontrol agents is extremely important for food industries. Bacteriophages can be considered as valuable tools for decontamination at different stages of food production. The goal of our research was to investigate the potential of the novel staphylococcal bacteriophage in decontamination of food and surfaces. To achieve our goal we have set several aims such as: investigation of the staphylococcal bacteriophage host range, single step growth cycle, stability at different temperature and pH and it’s decontamination ability of diary product, such as milk and also surfaces. Based on our results we can conclude that the novel staphylococcal bacteriophage – 92N complies with the requirements for the phages used in decontamination procedures, in particular it shows properties of virulent phages, is stable under various environmental conditions and has the obvious decontamination potential for food, such as milk and also surfaces.

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