Characterization of the New Bacteriophage Ec1-7 and Its Antibacterial Efficacy in Decontamination of Food Products and Stainless-Steel Surfaces.

Escherichia phage Ec1-7 was characterized and its efficacy on food products, as well as on stainless-steel surfaces, was evaluated. The bacteriophage with high adsorption rate and short latency period remained stable when exposed to various aggressive factors and demonstrated lytic activity against STEC strains. In addition, the phage did not contain antibiotic resistance, virulence, and toxin genes. In 24 h after application of the bacteriophage, E. coli concentration on lettuce leaves and on stainless-steel surfaces decreased by 98.2 and 90.5%, respectively. In the experiment with artificially contaminated beef, an 81% decrease in bacterial concentration was recorded on day 3 in comparison with the control samples treated with 0.9% NaCl solution. The bacteriophage Ec1-7 exhibited stability and efficacy as a biocontrol agent across diverse test materials.