Study of the Effectiveness of Bacteriophage BF1354 in the Decontamination of Chicken Meat Artificially Contaminated with an Antibiotic-Resistant Strain of Salmonella.

Salmonella, the agent causing salmonellosis, is one of the most common food pathogens in the world. Bacteriophages are now considered as the most effective and environmentally friendly method to control pathogens in various food products. We evaluated the efficacy of Salmonella phage BF1354 in decontamination of chicken fillet samples artificially contaminated with antibiotic-resistant Salmonella. Sterile chicken fillet samples (5 × 5 cm) were artificially contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis and then treated with bacteriophage at a concentration of 10 PFU/ml. The samples were stored at 4°C for 10 days. The number of Salmonella on days 1, 6, and 10 of the experiment decreased by 2.1, 2, and 0.8 log(CFU/g), respectively, in comparison with the control. The results demonstrate the efficacy of bacteriophage BF1354 in reducing the number of Salmonella cells in chicken fillets at refrigerated storage temperatures.