Efficiency of different sanitation methods on Listeria monocytogenes biofilms formed under various environmental conditions

The resistance of Listeria monocytogenes biofilms formed under food processing conditions, against various sanitizing agents and disinfection procedures was evaluated in the present study. The first sanitation procedure included biofilm formation on stainless steel coupons (SS) placed in tryptic soy broth supplemented with 0.6% yeast extract (TSBYE) of various concentrations of NaCl (0.5, 7.5 and 9.5%) at different temperatures (5 and 20 °C). The biofilms formed were exposed to warm (60 °C) water for 20 min, or to peroxyacetic acid (2% PAA) for 1, 2, 3 and 6 min. Treatment with warm water caused no significant (P ≥ 0.05) reductions in the attached populations. Conversely, surviving bacteria on SS coupons decreased as the exposure time to 2% PAA increased and could not be detected by culture after 6 min of exposure. Biofilms formed at 20°C were more resistant to PAA than biofilms formed at 5 °C. Salt concentration in the growth medium had no marked impact on the resistance to PAA. The second sanitation procedure included biofilm formation of nonadapted (NA) and acid-adapted (AA) cells in TSBYE of pH 5.0 and 7.0 (i.e., NA-5.0, NA-7.0 and AA-5.0, AA-7.0) at 4 °C. Coupons bearing attached cells of L. monocytogenes were periodically exposed to chlorine (0.465% Cl(-)), quaternary ammonium compound (1% QAC) and 2% PAA. The resistance of attached cells to QAC, PAA and Cl(-) followed the order: AA-5.0>NA-7.0 ≥ AA-7.0>NA-5.0. The most effective sanitizer was QAC followed by PAA and Cl(-). The results can lead to the development of efficient sanitation strategies in order to eliminate L. monocytogenes from the processing environment. Furthermore, such results may explain the presence of L. monocytogenes after sanitation as a result of cell attachment history.