Abstract

The meat industry is often confronted with bacterial contamination, particularly Escherichia coli (E. coli), which compromises food safety and poses significant public health risks. Conventional treatments for bacterial contamination can lead to undesirable outcomes, highlighting the need for alternative strategies. In this study, we characterized E. coli phages, including their genomic features to evaluate their safety, and assessed their potential as biocontrol agents for controlling E. coli in meat and biofilm formation. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that all phages possess morphological characteristics typical of the myoviruses. All phages exhibited varying adsorption rates (90% of phage particles adsorbed within 25–35 min), latent periods (10–30 min), and burst sizes (16–130 particles/infected cell). Whole genome analysis showed that phages WPEC3, WPEC4, and WPEC5 have genome sizes of 384,131 bp, 155,794 bp, and 381,326 bp, respectively, with GC contents of 35.84%, 38.93%, and 35.55%. The genomes mainly encode hypothetical proteins, including genes involved in DNA replication, metabolism, phage-host interaction, and structural proteins. Importantly, no antibiotic resistance genes, bacterial virulence genes, or lysogeny-associated genes were detected. The co-culture method at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 10,000 was the most effective, reducing biofilm to an OD<inf>595</inf> value of 0.09, while the exclusion and prevention methods showed OD<inf>595</inf> values of 0.14 and 0.18, respectively, at the same MOI. In chicken meat, a 10% (v/v) phage cocktail concentration achieved complete E. coli eradication within 0 h. In beef, the same concentration reduced the E. coli count by 3.87 log CFU/g at 0 h and achieved complete eradication within 24 h. Overall, the phage cocktail demonstrated strong biocontrol potential against E. coli biofilm formation and contamination in meat. This provides a promising alternative to conventional chemical or physical control methods in the meat industry, potentially enhancing food safety and consumer acceptability.