Abstract
Bacterial retention and organic fouling on meat preparation surfaces can be influenced by several factors. Surfaces with linear topographies and defined chemistries were used to determine how the orientation of the surface features affected cleaning efficacy. Fine polished (irregular linear) stainless steel (FPSS), titanium coated fine polished (irregular linear) stainless steel (TiFP), and topographically regular, linear titanium coated surfaces (RG) were fouled with Escherichia coli mixed with a meat exudate (which was utilised as a conditioning film). Surfaces were cleaned along or perpendicular to the linear features for one, five, or ten wipes. The bacteria were most easily removed from the titanium coated and regular featured surfaces. The direction of cleaning (along or perpendicular to the surface features) did not influence the amount of bacteria retained, but meat extract was more easily removed from the surfaces when cleaned in the direction along the linear surface features. Following ten cleans, there was no significant difference in the amount of cells or meat exudate retained on the surfaces cleaned in either direction. This study demonstrated that for the E. coli cells, the TiFP and RG surfaces were easiest to clean. However, the direction of the clean was important for the removal of the meat exudate from the surfaces.
Highlights
Modern food processing and production facilities provide an environment that promotes bacterial retention due to a myriad of factors, which include the surface properties of the equipment and the matrix of the food being processed [1,2]
Contamination of beef with Escherichia coli O157:H7 has been linked to outbreaks of foodborne illnesses and concerns about E. coli O157:H7 contamination have resulted in a zero tolerance towards this microorganism in the food industry [10,11]
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) of the fine polished stainless steel (FPSS), titanium coated fine polished stainless steel (TiFP), and the regular linear featured titanium coated surface (RG) revealed that the surface features of the FPSS and TIFP surfaces demonstrated irregular, linear topographies
Summary
Modern food processing and production facilities provide an environment that promotes bacterial retention due to a myriad of factors, which include the surface properties of the equipment and the matrix of the food being processed [1,2]. The removal of bacteria and/or organic material from food production surfaces is important since its build up can result in microbial contamination of food products, which can have a significant effect on consumers, food companies, and food suppliers, for example, cross-contamination of food with pathogenic bacteria can result in food-borne illnesses [3,4,5,6]. As such, biofouling in the food industry is a significant problem [8]. Some of which are important human pathogens, there can be contamination of raw meat due to biofouling [9]. Contamination of beef with Escherichia coli O157:H7 has been linked to outbreaks of foodborne illnesses and concerns about E. coli O157:H7 contamination have resulted in a zero tolerance towards this microorganism in the food industry [10,11]
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