Effectiveness of a phage cocktail as a biocontrol agent against L. monocytogenes biofilms.
Food Control, 2017
Sadekuzzaman, M., S. Yang, M. F. R. Mizan, H.-S. Kim, and S.-D. Ha.
Abstract
Listeria monocytogenes can persist and form biofilms in a food environment which are difficult to
eradicate because biofilms are inherently resistant to a variety of antimicrobial treatments. Therefore,
alternative approaches such as bacteriophages have been suggested as a promising biocontrol agent
against biofilms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a cocktail bacteriophage product
(ListShield™) against L. monocytogenes biofilms. These biofilms were established on lettuce, stainless
steel, rubber, and a MBEC biofilm device and exposed to the ListShield™ phage preparation (1x108 PFU/
mL) for 2 h. ListShield™ had sufficient potency to significantly reduce the biofilm (P < 0.05) in all cases.
Biofilm reduction achieved after ListShield™ treatment on the stainless steel coupon was 1.9e2.4 log
CFU/cm2 and on the rubber surface approximately 1.0 log CFU/cm2. Phage application on lettuce inactivated biofilm bacteria up to 0.7 log CFU/cm2. These results suggest that bacteriophage preparation
ListShield™ is an effective tool for the inactivation of L. monocytogenes biofilms in the food industry.