Food contamination by pathogenic and spoilage bacteria causes approximately 47 million cases of foodborne diseases in the United States and leads to tons of food spoilage, worsening the food loss situation worldwide. In addition, conventional preservation treatments implemented in the food industry decrease food’s nutritional and organoleptic quality. Therefore, there is a need for new alternatives to counteract food contamination without altering its characteristics. Endolysins are a promising strategy due to their unique properties, such as host specificity, synergism with other antibacterial agents, mode of action, and low probability of resistance development. These characteristics differentiate them from other antibacterial agents used in the food industry. Endolysins are enzymes produced by bacteriophages during the process of bacterial infection and lysis. This review describes the advances related to endolysin application systems in food, considering their potential for food safety and an overview of the application conditions according to the type of food and bacteria to be controlled. We also highlight the need for new studies on endolysin encapsulation and prolongation of the action time in cases of outbreaks that allow obtaining key information to improve the application of endolysins in different food matrices during food processing and storage

Staphylococcus aureus is a major foodborne pathogen associated with contamination of dairy and meat products, posing a persistent challenge to food safety due to its biofilm formation and resistance to multiple antibiotics. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the use of bacteriophages and phage-derived endolysins as targeted biocontrol agents against S. aureus in food systems. Bacteriophages exhibit host specificity and self-replicating capacity, while endolysins provide rapid lytic activity, minimal resistance development, and effectiveness against biofilm-embedded cells. Studies demonstrate significant microbial reductions in milk, cheese, and meat matrices, although factors such as pH, salt, and fat content can influence their efficacy. The integration of these biocontrol tools into food preservation represents a sustainable and safe alternative to conventional antimicrobials. Finally, we discuss current limitations and the need for optimizing formulations, stability, and regulatory frameworks to facilitate the adoption of phage and endolysin-based products in the food industry.

We report the genome sequence of phage UNICOR_HM-QL, isolated from Costeño cheese, a Colombian artisanal fresh cheese produced with raw milk. This lytic phage infects Escherichia coli (ATCC 11229) and Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (ATCC 13076). Comparative genomic analyses assigned UNICOR_HM-QL to the genus Berlinvirus . The genome comprises 39,561 bp with a GC content of 48.9% and encodes 47 coding DNA sequences (CDSs), with no tRNA genes detected.