Isolation and application of bacteriophages to reduce Salmonella contamination in raw chicken meat

Chicken meats are considered as main sources associated with Salmonella infections in humans. In this study, lytic phages against Salmonella were isolated and examined for their efficacy to control Salmonella. Eighteen lytic phages were isolated from raw chicken skin and gizzard. Five phages belonging to Myoviridae and Siphoviridae families were characterized and selected for bacterial challenge tests. The treatment of raw chicken breast samples contaminated with S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium at 8 °C by the cocktail of five phages significantly reduced (P < 0.05) viable counts by 1.41 and 1.86 log CFU/piece, respectively. When incubated at 25 °C, the highest reductions of viable counts of S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium in the phage-treated samples were 3.06 and 2.21 log CFU/piece, respectively (P < 0.05). These data suggested that the phages isolated from raw chicken meats are potential agents for controlling Salmonella in raw meats.