The potential of foodborne pathogens and spoilage organisms to form biofilms has raised issues in food industries. A wide range of micro-organisms such as Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Pseudomonas spp., Staphylococcus aureus, have been documented to cause biofilm formation on food and food contact surfaces (Dewanti & Wong, 1995; Sharma & Anand, 2002). Apart from bacteria’s intrinsic capability to initiate attachment, extrinsic factors such as food contact surface influence on the level of attachment and ultimately biofilm formation (Srey, Jahid, & Ha, 2013). Food contact surfaces are made up of various materials including stainless steel, glass, polyurethane, teflon, rubber, wood and …show more content…
In 2011, there was an outbreak linked to the whole cantaloupe contaminated with L. monocytogenes whose root cause was speculated to be the unsanitary condition of the processing environment. The firm attachment and biofilm formation by L. monocytogenes in inaccessible areas and later dispersion during processing, supposedly caused the microorganism contaminate the cantaloupes (Sapers, Miller, Pilizota, & Mattrazzo, 2001). Similarly, various common practices in produce industries including trimming, cutting, slicing, washing, rinsing, and packaging; all of which can serve as primary sources of cross-contamination as a result of biofilm formation and hazardous consequences thereafter (Suslow et al., 2003). The sanitizers normally used in produce industries such as ozone, chlorine, organic acids, are only effective in reducing 1-2 logs of microorganisms and are usually ineffective against microbial biofilms (Rosenblum, Ge, Bohrerova, Yousef, & Lee, 2012). Areas of concern in produce industries consist the product itself, equipment and process, all vulnerable to biofilm formation and therefore require a rigorous food safety and sanitation plan.
Dairy industry. Dairy industries constituting milk and milk products are highly susceptible to contamination by various microorganisms such as
This replaced the 1994 health and safety outlines and was put forth to improve the inspection and compliance action of R.T.E foods, with respect to their potential to support the growth of this pathogen. This applied to all R.T.E foods, including dairy, produce, fish and seafood, meats and was applied to federally registered and non-registered sectors. 16 This policy was administered in such a way that based on perceived vulnerability to grow Listeria; Ready-to-Eat foods were divided into an assortment of categories. The presence of L. monocytogenes in Category 1 foods poses the highest-risk. This would typically generate a Health 1 concern, where consumers would be made aware that contact with the food will likely produce severe health consequences. 17 In addition, Canada’s policy indicated that any R.T.E food tainted with Listeria, specifically produced for at risk groups, would be considered a Health 2 concern. This would illustrate that some form of health consequence is expected to result from exposure to the contaminated food, especially if it is a vulnerable group coming into contact with it.
The mostly widely used techniques to inactivate microbes in food industry are conventional thermal pasteurization and sterilization. Thermal processing does kill vegetative microorganism and some spores (Peng et al., 2012), however, the effectives of this processing rely on the treatment time and temperature which are also proportional to the amount of nutrient loss, deterioration of functional properties of functional products and development of
It is very difficult to treat bacterial biofilm infection. Antibiotic treatment by itself is not enough to destroy biofilm infections adequately. Overall, the approaches to combat biofilms can be categorized into two groups depending if the infection involves a foreign body or not. If the biofilm infection does not involving a foreign body (such as indwelling implants), continuing treatment using high doses of combination of several antibiotics with different mode of action toward the bacteria is used to combat the infection. On the other hand, if a foreign body is involved in the biofilm infection, extraction of the implant is needed for positive result. In some cases, only physical reduction of the biofilm is possible (using mechanical methods)
coliO245: H8 or Salmonella to get underlying inoculums of 7 to 9 log and 2 to 3 log CFU/g intended for strawberries as well as verdant greens, individually. Tests were atmosphere pressed. Strawberries were put away at 5, 11, 16, and 23°C and rosemary blossoms and other verdant greens at 5, 16, and 23°C 7 days (or fewer if ruined some time recently). Equally Salmonella and E. coli O245: H8 demonstrated a continuous abatement in figures if immunized on strawberries, through comparative lessening saw at 3, 11, and 165°C (4 to 5 log following nine days). Notwithstanding, at 16°C (and 11°C for E. coli O245: H8), the endurance test ceased before day 7, because vanish of mutual pathogens underneath the minor furthest reaches of identification was accomplished or decay happened. At 23°C, strawberries were mildew covered following 3 or 5 days. Around then, a 2-to 3-log lessening of in cooperation pathogens had happened. Confined cease to exist (all things considered 1.0 log) and increment (all things considered, 0.7 logs) of pathogens on sage leaves occurred following seven days of capacity at 7 and 22°C, individually. On verdant greens, a practically identical reduction as on basil was seen following four days at 8°C. At 23°C, in cooperated pathogens expanded to advanced figures on crisp engrave chunk of ice and buttered lettuce leaves (by and large 1.0 log), most likely because of the nearness of
Public health is a broad topic, covering issues from health insurance and education to epidemiology and public policy. One of the key areas of focus in public health is food safety, because it affects people of every age, race, gender, and income level around the world. Rapidly advancing technology and globalization continue to have significant impacts on food safety, both positive and negative. Here are four of the biggest issues in food safety in 2015.
The formation of biofilms is not random but can be predicted by the process above. The biofilms become attached to surfaces because of gravity, or bacteria that have a negative charge. The bacteria senses and goes to the highest concentration of nutrients.
From September 24th to October 6th, grocery stores from across the United States, including New York and Kansas remove mixed cut fruit containers from shelves (CDC 2012b). When the outbreak was deemed over, the CDC (2012b) advises consumers to eat melon right away or refrigerate it; once it is cut, melon should stay in the refrigerator no longer than 7 days; and to discard melon that has been left at room temperature for longer than 4 hours. The FDA (2012) then reminds people that since L. monocytogenes can grow at 4°C, keeping foods in the refrigerator for extended periods of time can allow for it to grow. It is advised that the consumer wash their hands before and after handling food for at least 20 seconds with warm water and soap, to clean up spills in the refrigerator immediately, and to wash the inside of the refrigerator, cutting boards, and countertops regularly with hot water and one tablespoon of chlorine bleach, and then wiped down with a dry and clean towel or cloth (FDA 2012). A lesson to be taken away from this outbreak is that an outbreak can happen on any farm, and that safety should always be a
Our hypothesis was supported by our results, in the fact that the zone of inhibition was created through the use of hand sanitizer against the gram-positive bacteria. Problems that could’ve occur during the experiment would be through the way the disks were soaked in the hand sanitizer, some of them had more of the hand sanitizer than others, which caused a significant difference in percentage covered for the zone of inhibition. This is significant because hand sanitizer does work in eliminating bacteria as well as viruses because it reduces the risk of infection and illness (Tamimi, 3340). Others should care about the results of this experiment because it does show that by using hand sanitizer will drop an individuals risk of contracting bad
Foodborne illness is any illness resulting from food being spoiled, not properly cooked, or contaminated. Examples of the organisms in these types of food are pathogenic bacteria, viruses, parasites, and toxins, these organisms are caused by contaminants ranging from biological to chemical to physical. Biological contaminants such as pathogenic bacteria, can be caused by under cooked food, or can be spread by workers who do not properly wash their hands. Chemical contaminants are cleaning materials that have worked their way into the food during the cooking process, the cooling process, setting on the line or in any scenario where there are chemicals involved there is a risk of chemical contamination. Physical contaminants are any foreign objects that can get
On the other hand, bacterial contamination of the food can be occurred at various stages throughout the food processing and production chains beginning from the farm stage until the consumption stage. Foodborne bacterial pathogens have the capability to be attached in the form of biofilms on the surfaces of food industrial settings and equipment, these biofilms are resistant to most disinfections and become the main causative agent of bacterial foodborne persistence in the food production and processing chains. The control of foodborne bacterial pathogens and production of microbiologically safety food products are worldwide fundamental challenges concern both human health and worldwide economies. The unique properties of nanoparticles including their characteristic size, surface area, shape, as well as their amazing antibacterial properties especially against major foodborne bacterial pathogens, all offers great promise in solving bacterial food contamination facing food processing and production
The primary sources of microbial contamination are soil, air, animal feed, animal hides and intestines, plant surfaces, sewage, and food processing machinery or utensils
“Transmission of pathogens can occur directly from animals, birds and insects. Many animals can act as reservoirs for human pathogens and if these animals come into contact with fresh produce, contamination can occur. Animals should be prevented from
This paper dives into foodborne illness and food safety. Food portion sizes that deal with obesity and with an article on www.sciencedaily.com researchers who are challenging conventional beliefs about the effective strategies for helping with healthy eating for children and teens. These researchers address issues such as the harmfulness of weight-stigma, and help encourage a healthier eating lifestyle. The paper also discusses taste perception, with Marty Nemko stating "food is maximally multisensory. Food piques all five senses". I believe all these subjects together lead to taste aversion and the development of disgust.
Biofilm formation poses a universal complication to all implantable prostheses or devices in the human body. Medical costs rise substantially with biofilm formation and may lead to further life-threatening conditions. Researchers are looking into the anti-bacterial efficacy of different surface-coatings such as metals, polymers, nanoparticle texturing, and composites of each. The method through which bacteria adhere and/or aggregate is different across each surface-coating. While each have shown significance in the reduction of biofilm production in vitro, researchers have yet to perform effective in vivo experiments to confirm durability, adhesion specificity, cytotoxicity, and overall efficacy. It has been supposed that multifaceted “smart” surface-coatings are optimal for inhibiting biofilm production. However, there are still many complications inherent in both the smart-coating’s structure and chemistry that renders it unfeasible as a long-term solution.
The topic of biofilm formation and prevention has intrigued researchers for years. Biofilms can lead to serious infections, and are extremely difficult to treat after they have already formed. Due to this difficulty, prevention rather than treatment has become a focal point of biofilm research. Different materials could be tested for potential antimicrobial properties, which, if possessed, could be incorporated into the polymers which compose medical implants. This research could also be used in an industrial context, as biofilms also form on marine engineering systems, cooling or heating water systems, and other industrial environments where they can lead to corrosion and bacterial contamination. If a certain substance is found to have antimicrobial properties which would not damage the tissue surrounding a medical implant or other indwelling medical device, then the substance could potentially be incorporated into the material which makes up the implants or devices in order to prevent harmful biofilms from forming. While there are many methods of preventing biofilms, researchers are still trying to find new ways to treat biofilms which already exist within a host.