Development of the application of bacteriophages in the removal of odour-producing bacteria from meat

当真空包装的肉类第一次打开时，消费者闻到难闻的气味并不罕见。这种气味是由通常无害但会产生气味的细菌引起的，可能会让消费者望而却步，因为他们可能会认为肉已经变质，但通常清洗肉有助于去除气味。然而，如果消费者没有意识到这一点，可能会导致经济损失，并对商业产品品牌产生负面影响。以前的研究已经确定了乳杆菌目的物种，也称为乳酸菌（LAB），作为气味产生的病原体。LAB对肉类的污染可能发生在生产线的任何阶段，这些细菌是微需氧菌，可以在低温下生长，使真空包装的肉类成为它们生长的理想环境。去除这些细菌的一种有希望的方法是利用噬菌体（bacteriophage，简称BPHs），这是一种能够杀死细菌的天然病毒。FDA已将其归类为“李斯特菌”，因为市场上有安全和商业化的噬菌体产品，例如用于预防即食食品，肉类和水果中李斯特菌的噬菌体鸡尾酒。这项研究旨在确定在肉类加工和包装过程中是否可以使用乳酸菌来防止乳酸菌的生长，从而产生不良气味，最终目标是减少因不良气味而浪费的肉类数量。

When vacuum-packed meat is first opened it is not uncommon for consumers to smell a bad odour. This smell, caused by typically harmless but odour-producing bacteria, can discourage consumers as they may presume the meat has gone off but generally washing the meat helps to remove the smell. However, if consumers are unaware of this it can lead to economic loss and negatively impact the commercial product brand. Previous studies have identified species of the Lactobacillales order, otherwise known as lactic acid bacteria (LAB), as the causative agents of the odour production. Contamination of meat by LAB may occur at any stage of the production line and these species of bacteria are microaerophiles that can grow at low temperatures making the vacuum-packed meat the ideal environment for their growth. A promising approach to the removal of these bacteria is to exploit bacteriophages (phages), which are naturally occurring viruses that are able to kill bacteria. The FDA has classed phages, as safe and commercial phage products are available on the market, such as a phage cocktail to prevent Listeria in ready meals, meat and fruit. This research aims to determine whether phages could be used during the meat processing and packaging process to prevent the growth of LAB and consequently the production of bad odours with an ultimate goal of reducing the amount of meat wasted as a result of bad odours.