A bacteriophage can divide by ten the amount of salmonella in minced meat.
Abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever… Salmonella is a bacterium which wreaks havoc on humans. Transmitted by the consumption of raw or undercooked meat, it infects 19,800 people in France each year. The University of Nevada (United States) has found a solution a priori very simple to eradicate this bacterium: expose them to their natural enemy, the bacteriophages, during the preparation.
The study conducted by Amilton de Mello and his team was presented at meat congress organized by the American Association for Meat Research. It is based on a method as old as man: bacteriophages. These organisms attack bacteria without causing damage to humans, animals or plants.
10 times less salmonella
So researchers in Nevada inoculated salmonella into pork, beef and poultry – all minced. During the preparation they added a bacteriophage named Myovirus, which mainly attacks theE. coli – also responsible for disabling digestive symptoms. Thanks to this approach, it was possible to reduce the amount of bacteria in meat by 90%. “On the whole of the minced meat, the amount of salmonella has been divided by 10. We are delighted to achieve such good results,” says Amilton de Mello.
The specialist now hopes that the food industry will follow this model in order to improve food safety. This method is all the more interesting as it could prove to be effective against bacteria resistant to antibiotics. These cause 25,000 deaths per year in Europe. Salmonella plays a major role in this.
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