Bacteriophages in environments, food

Bacteriophages are often found in foods, especially fermented foods as well as foods in which bacteria have not been removed or to which bacteria have returned. Though not necessarily generally destructive of foods, phages nevertheless are especially problematic in the production of fermented dairy products.

Foods in which phages have been found...

1. Dairy products: butter, cheese (Cheddar, cottage, Swiss), cheese starter (Bel Paese, Emmental, Gorgonzola, Mozzarella), cheese whey, milk (butter, raw, skim), viili, and yogurt
2. Fermented foods (non-dairy): pickles, sauerkraut, soy sauce mash, vinegar, and wine
3. Produce (fresh):cabbage, lettuce, and mushrooms
4. Meat and poultry (fresh, processed, and/or spoiled):chicken, ground beef, pork, rib steaks, andsalami
   
5. Seafood: fish fillets, fish sauce, mussels, andoysters

Bacterial hosts of food-associated phages...

1. Acetobacter sp.
2. Brochothrix thermosphacta
3. Campylobacter fetus and jejuni
4. Carnobacterium divergens
5. Enterobacteria: Escherichia coli (including serotype O127:B7),  Salmonella spp.,  and Serratia spp.
6. Flavobacterium gasotypicum?
7. Kurthia zopfii
8. Lactobacillus acidophilus,  brevis,  casei,  cremoris?,  delbrueckii (subspp. bulgaricus and lactis),  fermentum,  helveticus, and plantarum
9. Lactococcus lactis (subspp. cremoris and  lactis)
10. Leuconostoc fallax,  gelidum,  mesenteroides (subsp.  cremoris), and oeni
11. Methylocystis sp.
12. Pediococcus acidolactici
13. Propionibacterium freudenreichii
14. Pseudomonas aeruginosa,  fluorescens,  fragi,  putida, and syringae
15. Shewanella putrefaciens
16. Staphylococcus aureus and carnosus
17. Streptococcus thermophilus

 Archaeal hostsof food-associated phages...

1. Halobacterium halobium and salinarum

Notes

•  Lists initially assembled by Hans-W. Ackermann

References

1. Ackermann, H.-W. 1997. Bacteriophage ecology, p. 335-339. In M. T. Martins, M. I. Z. Sato, J. M. Tiedje, L. C. N. Hagler, J. Döbereiner, and P. S. Sanchez (eds.), Progress in Microbial Ecology (Proceedings of the Seventh International Symposium on Microbial Ecology). Brazilian Society for Microbiology/International Committee on Microbial Ecology, São Paulo, Brazil.

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1. phage.atwiki.com
2. (bacteriophage ecology)
3. bacteriophage environmental microbiology
4. bacteriophage prevalence in environments
5. bacteriophages in environments, food