Fokas Rafail, Kotsiri Zoi, Vantarakis Apostolos
Department of Public Health, Medical School, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece.
Pathogens. 2025 Mar 16;14(3):291. doi: 10.3390/pathogens14030291.
Food safety is a paramount public health concern, particularly with the rise of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. This systematic review explores the efficacy of bacteriophages as a novel and environmentally sustainable approach to controlling multi-resistant and non-resistant bacterial pathogens in animal-derived food products. Following PRISMA guidelines, data from multiple studies were synthesized to evaluate bacteriophage applications across diverse food matrices, including beef, poultry, seafood, and dairy. The findings highlight significant variability in bacteriophage efficacy, influenced by factors such as food matrix properties, bacterial strains, and application methods. Phage cocktails and their combination with thermal treatments consistently demonstrated superior bacterial reduction compared to single-phage applications, which yielded variable results. Interestingly, the absence of a clear dose-response relationship underscores the need for a more detailed understanding of phage-host interactions and environmental influences. This review addresses a critical gap in the literature by advocating for matrix-specific, targeted phage applications over generalized approaches. Additionally, it underscores the transformative potential of bacteriophages as sustainable alternatives to chemical disinfectants in modern food safety practices. These insights provide a framework for future research aimed at optimizing bacteriophage efficacy and scaling their application in real-world food production systems.
食品安全是一个至关重要的公共卫生问题，尤其是随着抗菌耐药细菌的增加。本系统综述探讨了噬菌体作为一种新型且环境可持续的方法，用于控制动物源性食品中多重耐药和非耐药细菌病原体的功效。遵循PRISMA指南，综合了多项研究的数据，以评估噬菌体在包括牛肉、家禽、海鲜和乳制品在内的各种食品基质中的应用。研究结果突出了噬菌体功效的显著差异，这受到食品基质特性、细菌菌株和应用方法等因素的影响。与单噬菌体应用相比，噬菌体鸡尾酒及其与热处理的组合始终显示出更优的细菌减少效果，单噬菌体应用的结果则各不相同。有趣的是，缺乏明确的剂量反应关系凸显了更详细了解噬菌体-宿主相互作用和环境影响的必要性。本综述通过提倡针对特定基质的靶向噬菌体应用而非通用方法，填补了文献中的一个关键空白。此外，它强调了噬菌体作为现代食品安全实践中化学消毒剂的可持续替代品的变革潜力。这些见解为未来旨在优化噬菌体功效并扩大其在实际食品生产系统中应用的研究提供了一个框架。
