Bacterial biofilm formation in different surfaces of food industries

Abstract

The term biofilm describes the sessile microbial life form, characterized by microorganism adhesion to any surface and with the production of extracellular polymeric substances. In food industries, the formation of biofilms results in serious problems, since it can be a contamination source of the food product, compromising the final product quality and consumer health. The aim of this study was to verify the adhesion of biofilms (sessile cells) of pathogenic and/or deteriorating bacteria against surfaces of the food industry. The bacterial species tested were Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19117 and Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14028. It was used stainless steel and polypropylene coupons as contact surfaces. The results demonstrated that P. aeruginosa and S. Typhimurium showed higher biofilm formation capacity. Statistically, there was no difference in count of P. aeruginosa and S. Typhimurium (p > 0.05) cells. The same occurred between L. monocytogenes and S. aureus. However, the counts of P. aeruginosa and S. Typhimurium cells were statistically higher than S. aureus and L. monocytogenes (p < 0.05). By means of scanning electron microscopy it was also found increased adhesion of P. aeruginosa. The results revealed that P. aeruginosa was the bacterial species with higher biofilm formation capacity among the others.