Bacteriophages as post-harvest biocontrol agents against Campylobacter in food matrices: a systematic review of efficacy, taxonomic diversity, and regulatory perspectives.

Campylobacter is the leading cause of bacterial foodborne gastroenteritis globally, with poultry meat as the primary transmission vehicle representing a persistent public health challenge. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science comprised 14 eligible original studies evaluating lytic bacteriophage application against Campylobacter in post-harvest food matrices. Statistically significant bacterial reductions were reported in 12 of 14 studies (p < 0.05), ranging from 0.2 to ≥5 log10 CFU/g, with efficacy strongly modulated by temperature, MOI, and matrix composition. Under refrigeration conditions, reductions were generally modest (0.5-1.5 log10), whereas synergistic physical-biological combinations consistently exceeded the 2 log10 EFSA-referenced risk-reduction threshold. Group II (Firehammervirus) and Group III (Fletchervirus) phages exhibited complementary host-range and thermal profiles, providing the mechanistic rationale for multi-group cocktail formulations. Genomic screening of all characterized candidates confirmed the absence of lysogeny, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance determinants. These findings demonstrate that lytic bacteriophages constitute a biologically efficient and genomically safe post-harvest biocontrol strategy, whose industrial translation can optimize high-MOI formulations, multi-group cocktails, and regulatory frameworks validated under commercially relevant conditions.