Phageguard S (PGS) solution featured in large scale Salmonella field study in South Africa

Phageguard S (PGS) featured in large scale field study in South Africa

South Africa recently recorded a successful industry-first in the use of bacteriophages to reduce Salmonella loads in chicken-processing facilities. This industry-first was featured in leading industry news bulletins such as that of SAPA – the South African Poultry Association.

4 Million poultry carcasses were sprayed with the our phage solution PhageGuard S (PGS). The study succeeded in reducing the Salmonella presence significantly, proving the efficacy of phages during chicken processing.

Field study details

In the study, more than four million carcasses were treated with Phageguard S (PGS) over a period of four weeks. The carcasses were sprayed and sampled before entering and after exiting the spin chiller. Professor Pieter Gouws of South Africa’s Stellenbosch University says the study proved that bacteriophages, combined with chlorine wash, are effective against the multidrug-resistant Salmonella. “When applied correctly, bacteriophages can greatly improve food safety, with no adverse impact on abattoir workers, consumers or the environment”, he says.

The role bacteriophages can play in food safety is a well-researched discipline, but up to now studies were confined to laboratories. That all changed in 2020 when the Centre for Food Safety at Stellenbosch University conducted a field study in an operating chicken abattoir to determine the efficacy of bacteriophages to combat Salmonella on chicken carcasses. (Salmonella is particularly worrisome, given that it is becoming resistant to almost all antimicrobials).

The beauty of bacteriophages is that they only kill their target organism, with no impact on other organisms or the background environment. They are also completely natural and occur abundantly in nature.

In commenting on the study, the GM of SAPA’s Broiler Organisation, Izaak Breitenbach, said that the association supports the move away from antimicrobials. “Bacteriophages greatly enhance food safety in South Africa, especially given our warm climate in which bacteria multiply quickly and easily”, he says.