Award details

16AGRITECHCAT5: Bacteriophage Management of On-Farm Salmonella Contamination of Vine Fruits

Reference	BB/P005128/1
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Martha Clokie
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	University of Leicester
Department	Infection Immunity and Inflammation
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	335,039
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	01/07/2016
End date	30/06/2019
Duration	36 months

Abstract

As above

Summary

Salmonella spp. are one of most important foodborne pathogens worldwide, and incidences caused by contaminated food of non-animal origin have been increasing over the last decade, reflecing rising consumers' demands for fresh/minimallyprocessed fruit and vegetables. Crops where a post-harvest management period takes place outside are particularly at risk. project focuses on Salmonella contamination of vine fruits (raisins, sultanas), which are dried outside post harvest and exposed to fouling by birds. The impacts throughout the supply chain are signifcant, from the grower to the retailer, for example the product recall costs in the UK are estimated to be at least £500K per year. It is difficult to remove Salmonella from vine fruits using existing technologies and we propose to develop a novel and bespoke product based on bacteriophages (phages) that specifically target this pathogen and that can be applied during the on farm processing of the fruit. The Lead Organisation in the proposal: APS Biocontrol Ltd. [APS] has already developed an innovative technology for plant pathogen control, based on safe, naturally-occurring, highly specific phages. This project will see APS team with a UK academic, Prof Martha Clokie from the University of Leicester who has led several Reseach Council and Charitable Trust funded bacteriophage reseach and development projects, and who has experience and expertise in working with both Salmonella and phages. APS and the Leicester team will work together in order translate APS' technology to prevent onfarm crop contamination by Salmonella. Whilst the technology will be applied mainly outside of the UK, financial benefits will be realised in the UK: improved food security, reduced wastage and increased trade. The consortium combines technology specialists (APS), academic experts (Leicester), a major producer (Community Foods) and the UK's market leader in dried fruit sales (Tesco), who will encourage technology pull-through by using the phage product on the vine fruits that they sell.The focus of our work is the vine fruit industry (raisins and sultanas), where contamination with pathogens (mainly Salmonella) can have catastrophic effects throughout the supply chain. Vine fruits represent half of the global dried fruit supply chain (2014 value: $7,470m - a 5% increase on 2013), wih UK companies representing 15-20% of this market both by imports and by growing through partners. Currently only a relatively small amount of of the vine fruits are tested for Salmonella contamination, but as the scale of this Industry-wide problem of Salmonella contamination of vine fruits is appreciated, this is likely to change. Increased testing will reveal the full extent of the problem which will lead to significant further financial impact on the industry.In order to address this problem, we are an industrially-driven multi-partner consortium and will develop a technologyenabled, strategic innovation for managing Salmonella contamination, with treatments based on formulations of naturallyoccurring, highly-specific and environmentally-acceptable agents phages. The project will involve technology translation from academia, laboratory-scale development and pilot field trials. The project is in line with the UK Strategy for Agricultural Technologies through translating research into practice. It will develop and exploit a biocontrol technology in the UK, led by an innovative SME. The technology has the potential to reach global markets, with significant return to the UK Agri-Tech industry, benefiting UK research and production, the country's export and import businesses, as well as the retail industry. Also, the focus on new biocontrols aligns with EU policy to reduce the impact of pesticide use on people's health and the environment. It also aligns with recommendations for a better analysis of the prevalence of food-borne pathogens and relevant implementation of Good Agricultural Practice.

Impact Summary

This project directly addresses a key challenge in global primary crop production; bacterial contamination of crops postharvest (pre-farm gate) - specifically, those having an outside drying period on-farm, exposed to potential fouling contamination by animals, which can have significant implications to downstream processing and human health. We will achieve this through targeted, bespoke biocontrol applications, "evaluating the technical feasibility of an idea and establishing proof-of-concept and potential routes to exploitation"; the key remit of the Industrial Research Awards. The project will therefore impact both "primary crop and livestock production" and "addressing challenges in downstream food processing" (with a solution within primary production), aligning with a number of the suggested topic areas within this call; e.g. crop harvesting and storage, sustainability of production methods, reducing adverse impacts on the environment and limiting human health issues. The main impact of this work will be for the vine fruit industry (raisins, sultanas), where contamination with pathogens (mainly Salmonella) can have catastrophic effects throughout the supply chain. Vine fruits represent half of the global dried fruit supply chain (2014 value: $7,470m - a 5% increase on 2013), wih UK companies representing 15-20% of this (imports and growing through partners). An industrially-driven multi-partner consortium will develop a technology-enabled, strategic innovation for managing Salmonella contamination, with treatments based on formulations of naturally-occurring, highlyspecific and environmentally-acceptable agents (bacteriophage). The project will involve technology translation from academia, laboratory-scale development and pilot field trials. The project is in line with the UK Strategy for Agricultural Technologies through translating research into practice. It will develop and exploit a biocontrol technology in the UK, led by an innovative SME. The technologyhas the potential to reach global markets, with significant return to the UK Agri-Tech industry, benefiting UK research and production, the country's export and import businesses, as well as the retail industry. Also, the focus on new biocontrols aligns with EU policy to reduce the impact of pesticide use on people's health and the environment (Directive 2009/128/EC). It also aligns with recommendations for a better analysis of the prevalence of food-borne pathogens and relevant implementation of Good Agricultural Practices (EFSA). The consortium combines technology specialists (APS), academic experts (Leicester), a major producer (Community Foods) and the UK's market leader in dried fruit sales (Tesco), who will encourage technology pull-through.

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Crop Science, Microbial Food Safety, Microbiology, Plant Science
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	Agri-Tech Catalyst (ATC) [2013-2015]
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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