Controlling of foodborne pathogen biofilms on stainless steel by bacteriophages: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Rahim Azari,
Mohammad Hashem Yousefi,
Aziz A. Fallah,
Arezoo Alimohammadi,
Nastaran Nikjoo,
Jeroen Wagemans,
Enayat Berizi,
Saeid Hosseinzadeh,
Mohammad Ghasemi,
Amin Mousavi Khaneghah
Affiliations
Rahim Azari
Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Mohammad Hashem Yousefi
Department of Food Hygiene and Public Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, 71946-84471, Iran; Corresponding author. Department of Food Hygiene and Public Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, 71946-84471, Iran.
Aziz A. Fallah
Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, 34141, Iran
Arezoo Alimohammadi
Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Nastaran Nikjoo
Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Jeroen Wagemans
Department of Biosystems, KU Leuven, 3001, Leuven, Belgium
Enayat Berizi
Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Saeid Hosseinzadeh
Department of Food Hygiene and Public Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, 71946-84471, Iran
Mohammad Ghasemi
Department of Pharmacology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shahrekord University, P. O. Box 115, Shahrekord, Iran
Amin Mousavi Khaneghah
Food Health Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran; Department of Fruit and Vegetable Product Technology, Prof. Wacław Dąbrowski Institute of Agricultural and Food Biotechnology—State Research Institute, 36 Rakowiecka St., 02-532, Warsaw, Poland; Corresponding author. Food Health Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran.
This study investigates the potential of using bacteriophages to control foodborne pathogen biofilms on stainless steel surfaces in the food industry. Biofilm-forming bacteria can attach to stainless steel surfaces, rendering them difficult to eradicate even after a thorough cleaning and sanitizing procedures. Bacteriophages have been proposed as a possible solution, as they can penetrate biofilms and destroy bacterial cells within, reducing the number of viable bacteria and preventing the growth and spread of biofilms. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates the potential of bacteriophages against different biofilm-forming foodborne bacteria, including Cronobacter sakazakii, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Listeria monocytogenes. Bacteriophage treatment generally causes a significant average reduction of 38 % in biofilm formation of foodborne pathogens on stainless steel. Subgroup analyses revealed that phages are more efficient in long-duration treatment. Also, applying a cocktail of phages is 1.26-fold more effective than applying individual phages. Phages at concentrations exceeding 107 PFU/ml are significantly more efficacious in eradicating bacteria within a biofilm. The antibacterial phage activity decreases substantially by 3.54-fold when applied at 4 °C compared to temperatures above 25 °C. This analysis suggests that bacteriophages can be a promising solution for controlling biofilms in the food industry.
