There is a significant unmet need to develop antimicrobial solutions to reduce the risk of contamination in fresh produce. Bacteriophages have been proposed as a potential approach for controlling foodborne pathogens. This study evaluated the combination of edible dip coatings with T7 bacteriophages on whole and cut produce. The evaluation includes an assessment of phage loading, phage storage stability, antimicrobial activity, and phage stability during simulated gastric digestion on sliced cucumbers, sliced apples, and whole cherry tomatoes. In this evaluation, phages coated on fresh produce using edible whey protein isolate (WPI) were compared with phages coated from an aqueous suspension (control coating). The results demonstrated that WPI coatings load more phages than the control and enhanced phage stability during cold storage (4 °C) for cut apples and whole cherry tomatoes. Phage stability decreased by 1 to 3 log(PFU) in a simulated gastric environment. Phage antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli BL21 decreased 2 to 4 log(CFU) of bacteria on cut apples and whole cherry tomatoes, while no significant bacterial reduction was observed for sliced cucumbers. Overall, the results show that WPI dip coating provides phage loading, stability, and antimicrobial activity to produce surfaces compared to the control coating, and thus may be considered an effective approach for extending phage therapy on fresh produce. PRACTICAL APPLICATION The practical application is to prevent bacterial cross contamination of fresh produce by using a combination of edible coating with bacteriophages. The results demonstrate enhanced loading and stability of phages on fresh produce when used in combination with an edible coating.

中文翻译：

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将噬菌体疗法结合到 WPI 浸涂中，用于新鲜的全切和切开的水果和蔬菜表面

开发抗菌解决方案以降低新鲜农产品污染风险的需求尚未得到满足。噬菌体已被提议作为控制食源性病原体的潜在方法。本研究评估了可食用浸涂与 T7 噬菌体对整个产品和切割产品的组合。评估包括在黄瓜切片、苹果切片和整个樱桃番茄的模拟胃消化过程中评估噬菌体负载、噬菌体储存稳定性、抗菌活性和噬菌体稳定性。在该评估中，将使用可食用乳清蛋白分离物 (WPI) 包被在新鲜农产品上的噬菌体与从水悬浮液包被的噬菌体（对照包衣）进行了比较。结果表明，与对照相比，WPI 涂层负载的噬菌体更多，并且在切开的苹果和整个樱桃番茄的冷藏（4°C）期间增强了噬菌体的稳定性。在模拟的胃环境中，噬菌体稳定性降低了 1 到 3 log(PFU)。噬菌体对大肠埃希氏菌 BL21 的抗菌活性降低了苹果和整个樱桃番茄上 2 到 4 log (CFU) 的细菌，而黄瓜切片没有观察到显着的细菌减少。总体而言，结果表明，与对照涂层相比，WPI 浸涂可提供噬菌体负载、稳定性和抗微生物活性以产生表面，因此可被认为是在新鲜农产品上扩展噬菌体治疗的有效方法。实际应用 实际应用是通过使用可食用涂层与噬菌体的组合来防止新鲜农产品的细菌交叉污染。结果表明，当与可食用涂层结合使用时，噬菌体在新鲜农产品上的负载和稳定性得到了增强。