Recent Listeria outbreaks implicating seafoods have highlighted the challenge of controlling these bacteria in the food production setting. Added to this, Listeria monocytogenes is showing increasing levels of antimicrobial resistance. This dual threat to public health, to the immunocompromised and the direct threat from Listeria, is prompting calls for novel biocontrol systems.
Dr Sudhakar Bhandare from the University of Nottingham is partnering with Prof Margaret Crumlish from the University of Stirling, with support from a seafood processor in this project to trial the use of bacteriophages in the post-harvest biocontrol of Listeria in salmon and trout products, which not only would bolster public health, but also reduce food waste, extend product shelf life, and further promote these seafoods as part of a healthy human diet.