The characteristics, detection and control of bacteriophage in fermented dairy products

Abstract

This study was to review the classification, detection and control of bacteriophage in fermented dairy products. Bacteriophage has lytic and/or lysogenic life cycles. Epidemiologically speaking, detected major phages are c2, 936 and p335. Among them p335 has been the largest concern in dairy industry. Traditionally, various analytical technologies, such as spot, starter activity, indicator test, ATP measurement and conductimetric analysis, have been used for the phage detection. In recent years, advanced methods such as flow cytometric method, petrifilm, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and multiflex PCR diagnostic kit have been deveoloped. The phage contamination has been controlled by using heat, high-pressure treatment, and the combinations of heat and pressure, and/or chemical. Also some starter cultures with phage-resistant character have been developed to minimize the concentration of phages in dairy product. Bacteriophage inhibition media such as calcium medium was also mentioned. To prevent the contamination of bacteriophage in dairy industry, further researches on the detection and control of phage, and phage resistant starters are necessary in the future.