Study on the Survival of Enteric Virus in Chilled and Frozen Oyster Meat Using MS2 Bacteriophage As a Surrogate

This study utilized Escherichia coli bacteriophage MS2 as a surrogate to evaluate the survival of enteric viruses in oyster meat. The MS2 phage was propagated in its host, Escherichia coli, spiked into oyster meat at a concentration of 8.6 x10¹⁰ PFU/ml (10.93 log CFU/ml) and stored under chilled conditions on ice and at -20°C (frozen storage). Phage titres were measured using the soft agar overlay method, with sampling conducted every second day for ice-stored meat and every fifth day for frozen-stored meat. The survival analysis demonstrated that MS2 phages and by extension enteric viruses, could persist in ice for up to 10 days with counts reaching 4.78 log PFU/g. In frozen storage, the phages survived for up to 35 days, exhibiting 4 log reduction in viral counts. These results highlight a significant reduction in bacteriophage survival in oyster meat during both ice and frozen storage conditions.