Application of bacteriophage MS2 in preliminary simulation of inactivation rate of pathogenic viruses in commercial beef and chicken packaging

In response to the growing concern of transmitting pathogenic viruses through food, this research aimed to assess the impact of various factors on the commercial packaging of meat (chicken and beef) on the inactivation of bacteriophage MS2 which was scrutinised by examining the influence of packaging type, bacteriophage spiking levels, temperature, as well as the meat shape and type. The findings revealed that the recovery of bacteriophage MS2 from minced beef was lower in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) compared with air packaging (AP) at both storage times, spiking levels, and freezing and refrigerating temperatures. On the other hand, the recovery of the bacteriophage from chopped beef was lower in AP than in MAP in refrigerating conditions at both spiking levels during the 3 days of storage. According to our findings, the recovery levels of bacteriophage MS2 from chicken had statistically significant differences in both packaging types at different spiking levels. Storage conditions and packaging type were the most essential parameters in bacteriophage MS2 viability. The lowest bacteriophage viability belonged to MAP.