Bioluminescence ATP monitoring for the routine assessment of food contact surface cleanliness in a university canteen.

Andrea Osimani,Francesca Clementi,Cristiana Garofalo,Stefano Tavoletti,Lucia Aquilanti

doi:10.3390/ijerph111010824

Abstract

ATP bioluminescence monitoring and traditional microbiological analyses (viable counting of total mesophilic aerobes, coliforms and Escherichia coli) were used to evaluate the effectiveness of Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP) at a university canteen which uses a HACCP-based approach. To that end, 10 cleaning control points (CPs), including food contact surfaces at risk of contamination from product residues or microbial growth, were analysed during an 8-month monitoring period. Arbitrary acceptability limits were set for both microbial loads and ATP bioluminescence readings. A highly significant correlation (r = 0.99) between the means of ATP bioluminescence readings and the viable counts of total mesophilic aerobes was seen, thus revealing a strong association of these parameters with the level of surface contamination. Among CPs, the raw meat and multi-purpose chopping boards showed the highest criticalities. Although ATP bioluminescence technology cannot substitute traditional microbiological analyses for the determination of microbial load on food contact surfaces, it has proved to be a powerful tool for the real time monitoring of surface cleanliness at mass catering plants, for verify the correct application of SSOP, and hence for their implementation/revision in the case of poor hygiene.

Highlights

Food-borne diseases are a public health priority since each year a large number of people become ill owing to the consumption of unsafe food; the main concerns are usually related to the presence of physical and chemical contaminants as well as pathogenic microorganisms [1,2]
Several pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter jejuni, Yersinia enterocolitica and enteropathogenic strains of Escherichia coli can survive on different surfaces for periods ranging from several hours to days [7,8,9] and even form biofilms
This study aimed to investigate the introduction of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence measurement as a real-time and routine verification of the cleaning procedures applied at a university canteen that produces up to 1,200 meals a day using a HACCP-based approach

Summary

Introduction

Food-borne diseases are a public health priority since each year a large number of people become ill owing to the consumption of unsafe food; the main concerns are usually related to the presence of physical and chemical contaminants as well as pathogenic microorganisms [1,2]. Several pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter jejuni, Yersinia enterocolitica and enteropathogenic strains of Escherichia coli can survive on different surfaces for periods ranging from several hours to days [7,8,9] and even form biofilms. The latter are surface-associated microbial communities, consisting of micro-colonies entrapped in an exopolymeric matrix [10], where microbial cells can persist and survive decontamination procedures, thereby representing a potential reservoir for food contamination. The formation of biofilms generally starts when cleaning and sanitation procedures are not performed correctly, and the food residues that remain on the not properly cleaned surfaces constitute a source of nutrients for the microorganisms which may be present [11].

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Conclusion