Source: MEATINGPLACE, 4/17/14
 

An injection of viruses nearly eradicated a toxin-producing strain of E. coli in contaminated ground beef and spinach, decreasing concentrations by about 99 percent in some cases, Purdue University researchers found.
Paul Ebner, a professor of animal science, and colleagues at Purdue infected fresh spinach leaves and ground beef with about 10 million cells of E. coli O157:H7, a far greater amount than typically found in contaminated food products.

The researchers then treated the food with a cocktail of bacteriophages, a liquid containing three kinds of viruses selected for their ability to quickly and efficiently kill E. coli.

In ground beef stored at room temperature, the treatment killed about 99 percent of E. coli bacteria within 24 hours. In refrigerated ground beef, the number of E. coli shrunk by about 68 percent, and in undercooked ground beef, it shrunk by 73 percent.

The treatment was even more effective in spinach stored at room temperature, reducing E. coli concentrations by more than 99.8 percent at various time intervals.

"Phage treatment is a way of harnessing the natural antibacterial properties of phages to limit E. coli and other important foodborne pathogens," Ebner said. "Applying this kind of therapy to contaminated foods will make them safer."

Ingesting phages does not pose a threat to human health because they are host-specific and target only certain types of bacteria, said Ebner.

"Phage therapy is a way of using microbes beneficially, similar to using probiotics in yogurt," he said.
The research was published in the Journal of Animal Science.

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