A mini-review on the role of bacteriophages in food safety
Nosheen Amjad, Muhammad Sadiq Naseer, Ali Imran, Soumya V. Menon, Aakash Sharma, Fakhar Islam, Saleha Tahir, Mohd Asif Shah
Abstract
Despite their serious disadvantages, which include higher upfront costs, the possibility of malfunctions due to corrosiveness, and a negative impact on the organoleptic properties of the food and possibly its nutritional importance, conventional antibacterial techniques such as pasteurization, pressure preparation, and radioactive substances are also valid as synthetic antiseptics, in fact, reduce bacterial growth in food to varying degrees. Most importantly, these cleaning techniques remove all contaminants, including various (often helpful) microorganisms found naturally in food. One potential solution to some of these issues is bacteriophage bio-control, a common and inexpensive method that uses lytic bacteriophages taken from the environment to selectively target harmful bacteria and eliminate significantly reduce their stages of feeding. It has been claimed that using bacteriophages on food is a novel way to prevent the growth of germs in vegetables. This review highlights the role of bacteriophages in food safety and their advantages in detail.