Good viruses as a tool for food preservation and safety

What is it about?

The review article demonstrates the anti bacterial potential of bacteriophages, that are viruses affecting only bacteria. It confirms that bacteriophages could be the answer to various pathogenic bacteria-related issues the world is facing right now, especially the increased emergence of Multi drug-resistant (MDR) strains. They have diverse applications ranging from biocontrol of food pathogen-related outbreaks to combat against food spoilers,from prophylactic applications as a therapy against several animal and plant diseases to sanitization of food contact surfaces possessing the risk of biofilms.

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Photo by Luke Michael on Unsplash

Photo by Luke Michael on Unsplash

Why is it important?

With more and more increasing trend of conscious consumerism and a shift toward consumption of clean, organic produce among consumers nowadays, bacteriophages would be a suitable alternative to produce and preserve foods organically. Moreover these human friendly viruses are easily and abundantly found in the nature. They can also be an useful tool for target specific decontamination method in food and agri products specially for fermented foods which requires the presence of various useful bacteria for its production.