Hydrogen peroxide vapor: a novel method for the environmental control of lactococcal bacteriophages.

Bacteriophage contamination can be problematic, especially in industrial settings. We examined the in vitro efficacy of hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV) for the inactivation of two lactococcal bacteriophages dried onto stainless steel discs. A more than 6-log reduction was achieved on both bacteriophages compared with unexposed controls by 50 min of HPV exposure in an isolator. HPV might be useful for the environmental control of bacteriophages.