Decontamination of Escherichia coli in plant-based meat using a phage cocktail as a natural preservative

Plant-based meat (PBM) provides protein-rich food as an alternative to animal-based meat. It is cheaper and healthier, with minimal adverse effects associated with its consumption compared to animal-based meat. However, it could be susceptible to contamination by the Enterobacteriaceae, especially pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli). This limiting factor affects the quality of PBM and hinders consumer safety and acceptability, demanding an effective decontamination strategy. This research aimed to evaluate the efficiency of an E. coli phage cocktail as a natural preservative to decontaminate pathogenic E. coli on PBM. Six phages (WPEC1, WPEC2, WPEC3, WPEC4, WPEC5, and WPEC6) in our collection were used to formulate a cocktail to decontaminate pathogenic E. coli on PBM. The stability of the E. coli phage cocktail under various conditions was determined. Subsequently, the phage cocktail was used to treat artificially contaminated PBM. E. coli reduction and proximate composition of the PBM were then analyzed. From the result, the individual phages exhibited varying lytic abilities up to 48.1–56.7 % against the pathogenic E. coli strains, with an average lytic ability of over 50 %. The duration and MOI significantly (p < 0.05) influenced the rate of reduction of E. coli. The E. coli isolates, ECDYY89 and ECDYY183 recorded the highest reductions of 4.1 log CFU/mL at MOI 10³ and 2.2 log CFU/mL at MOI 10², respectively, at 12 h. The phage cocktail was generally stable in preservatives (>90 % survivability), pH (>96 % survivability at pH 2 to 11), temperature (>90 % survivability at 4–45 °C), and chlorine (97.6–86.5 % survivability in 0.1–1.0 % chlorine). A 10 % phage cocktail on day 3 proved the best treatment for bacterial reduction on PBM, recording the highest E. coli reduction of 1.2 log CFU/g. The proximate composition (ash, carbohydrate, fat, moisture, protein, calories) of the PBM was not affected by the phage cocktail treatment. The phage cocktail can withstand various food processing conditions; hence, it could be used for industrial applications with no negative impact on PBM quality.