Phage Biocontrol of E. coli o157:H7 on Processed Meat

Arenas, Nathalia; Ryan, Katelyn M

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Phage Biocontrol of E. coli o157:H7 on Processed Meat

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Foodborne Escherichia coli (E. coli) outbreaks have been a continual public health concern for decades, costing the U.S. $405.2 million annually, in premature deaths, medical care, and lost productivity [3]. Antibiotics have been a common defense against bacteria; however, increase findings of antibiotic-resistant bacteria have lead to research of bacteriophage as a method to reduce foodborne illnesses. This research project investigated the effectiveness of phage for controlling the propagation of artificially contaminated E. coli O157:H7 meat samples. The samples were inoculated by dipping with an E. coli concentration of ~108CFU/ml of to achieve a bacterial coverage of ~103CFU/cm2 . Following the bacterial application, the meat samples were inoculated with pp01 via dipping using a phage concentration of ~2- 6X108 PFU/ml. The samples were evaluated after various incubation conditions: 0h, 0.5h, 2h, 24h, 48h, and 72h. Two replicate trials were performed; the only difference being that in Trial 1 a non-filtered phage stock was used, while in Trial 2 a phage stock that was filtered with 0.45μm filter was used. Of the two trials performed, the results displayed that the highest reduction of E. coli after phage application occurred at 24h with ~2.7X105CFU/cm2 .

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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