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Chapter 2
Salmonella enterica [29]. Once bacteria are introduced into an
environment, the surfaces may provide a sufficient niche environment for
biofilm development and persistence over long periods of time [140].
Vestby et al. found that Salmonella can survive in a food processing
environment for up to ten years in a biofilm [56]. Salmonella enterica has
been linked to contaminated equipment and processing lines [34, 36, 109,
156-157]. Previous authors have estimated that 29% of food-borne
contamination arises from cross contamination during raw meat
preparation [158-159]. These findings suggest that contaminated food
contact surfaces may provide Salmonella with an entry into the food chain.
Due to this association, food contact surfaces have been the subject of
several studies including adherence to surfaces [100, 108, 160], survival
and transfer from surfaces [30, 150], biofilm studies [56, 71, 98, 161] and
environmental monitoring studies [141, 162-163].
2.1.1. Surface differences
Despite research into biofilm formation on food contact surfaces there
have been limited comparisons of multiple contact surfaces within the
same model. The surface or substrata to which the cells attach to and
develop a biofilm on may be important factors influencing the bacterial
attachment, growth, morphology and ability to resist disinfectants.
Chia et al. demonstrated that the surface properties teflon, stainless steel,
glass, rubber and polyurethane may influence the level of S. enterica
attachment [100]. Chia and colleagues found that the Salmonella attached
to teflon in higher numbers than the other 4 materials. There was no
significant difference between glass and stainless steel or rubber and
polyurethane (p