About this Research Topic
Bacteriophage potential in eliminating specific bacteria has been recognized nearly since the discovery of these viruses at the beginning of the 20th century. Interest in phage application, which initially focused on medical treatments, rapidly spread throughout different biotechnological and industrial fields. This includes the food safety sector, in which the presence of pathogens poses an explicit threat to consumers.
Bacteriophages have many features, which make them attractive tools in strategies against foodborne pathogens. They are highly specific and therefore do not affect neither the natural microflora of the consumer organism nor the product if the production process involves using bacteria (e.g., fermentation processes). Frequently, a single dose of bacteriophage preparation is sufficient to achieve the therapeutic effect. Furthermore, phages are easily isolated from the environment with easy and cheap methods. Noteworthy, the addition of phages doesn’t impact the organoleptic, rheological, and nutritional properties of the product, which is important from the perspective of the consumers.
The subtopics we want to expand in this article collection include: (1) bacteriophages in food safety at every stage of the food production process, in the so-called "farm to fork" approach (2) phage therapy of the main bacterial pathogens related to foodborne illness (3) bacteriophages as sanitizers in food industry (4) phage-based detectors targeted against foodborne pathogens (5) phage delivery systems in the food industry.
With this Research Topic we aim to explore the phage potential in the development of
antibacterial strategies against foodborne pathogens, welcoming the submission of Original Research Articles, Reviews, Mini Reviews, Methods, Perspective and Systematic Reviews.
Keywords: Bacteriophages, Food safety, Bacteriophages against foodborne pathogens, Phage biocontrol, Phage sanitization
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.