Phagovet

Phages to reduce salmonella in poultry

While there are many measures currently used to prevent bacterial infections in chicken, they often have their own limitations and drawbacks.

As a possible alternative, phages offer unique advantages. These host-specific viruses can attack and eliminate bacterial infections without altering flavor or compromising the effectiveness of other preservatives. In fact, research has shown that certain phage treatments can effectively reduce the presence of Salmonella in chickens without harming the animals themselves.

As an environmentally friendly and potentially more effective method of preventing infections such as salmonellosis, phage therapy is worthy of further investigation because it can help improve public health and reduce losses in the poultry industry.

The authors Malak Almutairi, Mohammed Imam, Nouf Alammari, Radwan Hafiz, Faizal Patel, and Sulaiman Alajel researched this further in their publication Using Phages to Reduce Salmonella Prevalence in Chicken Meat: A Systematic Review, dated 18 march 2022.

Topics:

  • Salmonellosis is an infection that significantly affects chickens and the people who consume them. It is a public health burden and contributes to economic losses in the chicken industry worldwide.
  • To control bacterial infections associated with chicken meat, significant amounts of antibiotics are used worldwide, as well as various infection prevention measures. However, chemical additives, such as organic acids, and chlorine-based measures all have various limitations. These include feed refusal due to taste changes and incompatibility between organic acids and other inoculated preservatives such as antimicrobials.
  • Phages are host-specific viruses that interact with bacteria in specific ways. Therefore, they possess unique biological and therapeutic properties that can be used to reduce bacterial contamination and thus improve food safety and quality.
  • This systematic review examines the current evidence on the efficacy of different phages on Salmonella colonization of chicken meat by summarizing the results of 17 studies conducted under similar experimental conditions (temperature and incubation parameters).
  • The current findings indicate that most in vitro studies in which phages were used as biocontrol agents successfully eliminated Salmonella contamination in chicken meat samples. This suggests that phages are a promising solution for the control of foodborne bacteria worldwide.
Using Phages to Reduce Salmonella Prevalence in Chicken Meat

Abstract

Salmonellosis is an infection that significantly impacts chicken and humans who consume it; it is a burden on public health and a contributor to commercial losses in the chicken industry worldwide.

To tackle chicken meat-related bacterial infections, significant quantities of antibiotics alongside several infection prevention measures are used worldwide.

However, chemical additives, such as organic acids, and chlorine-based interventions all have different limitations. These include feed refusal due to a change of taste, and incompatibility between organic acids and other inoculated preservative agents such as antimicrobial agents.

Phages are host-specific viruses that interact with bacteria in a specific manner. Therefore, they possess unique biological and therapeutic features that can be used to reduce bacterial contamination, leading to improved food safety and quality.

This systematic review examines the current evidence regarding the effectiveness of various phages on Salmonella colonization in chicken meat. This review summarizes findings from 17 studies that were conducted in vitro with similar experimental conditions (temperature and incubation parameters) to test the efficacy of isolated and commercially available phages on chicken raw meat samples.

The current evidence suggests that most of the in vitro studies that used phages as a biocontrol to eradicate Salmonella contamination in chicken meat were successful. This indicates that phages constitute a promising solution worldwide for tackling foodborne bacteria, including Salmonella.

Keywords: Salmonella; chickens; in vitro; phages; poultry.

Copyright 2022, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

Salmonella is a type of bacteria that can cause food poisoning in humans. Chicken meat is one of the common sources of salmonella infections, so it is important to reduce the prevalence of this bacteria in chicken meat. One approach that has been studied is the use of bacteriophages, also known as phages, to reduce the prevalence of salmonella in chicken meat.

Phages are viruses that infect and replicate within bacteria, and they have been used for many years as a potential alternative to antibiotics for controlling bacterial infections. There have been a number of studies that have investigated the use of phages to reduce the prevalence of salmonella in chicken meat.

Overall, the results of these studies suggest that phages can be effective at reducing the prevalence of salmonella in chicken meat. However, there are still some challenges and limitations to using phages for this purpose, including the need to identify and isolate specific phages that are effective against the particular strains of salmonella present in the chicken meat, and the potential for the development of phage resistance in the bacteria.

Further research is needed to fully understand the potential of using phages to reduce the prevalence of salmonella in chicken meat, and to identify the most effective and practical approaches for using phages in this context. In the meantime, it is important to continue to follow good food safety practices, such as cooking chicken meat to an appropriate temperature and handling it properly, to reduce the risk of salmonella infection.