Food Safety Implications of Biofilms Formed by Resident Bacteria in Fresh-cut Processing Environments

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorLo, Yangming M.en_US
dc.contributor.authorLiu, Tongen_US
dc.contributor.departmentFood Scienceen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2014-02-05T06:30:22Z
dc.date.available2014-02-05T06:30:22Z
dc.date.issued2013en_US
dc.description.abstractBiofilms on equipment surfaces can be vectors for cross-contaminations in food processing facilities. A particular problem is that biofilms can protect pathogenic bacteria from daily cleaning and disinfection operations. In the present study, microflora were recovered from fresh-cut processing facilities, identified, and tested for biofilm forming potential. Subsequently, dual-species biofilms of selected isolates and <italic>Escherichia coli</italic> O157:H7 were investigated. Approximately 30% of the isolates were potent biofilm formers, producing large amounts of biomass. A hundred and seventeen tested isolates were identified into 23 genera, including plant related bacteria and coliforms with some opportunistic pathogens. Dual-species biofilms formed by <italic>Burkholderia caryophylli</italic> or <italic>Ralstonia insidiosa</italic> and <italic>E. coli</italic> O157:H7 manifested increased biomass in comparison to their monocultures. Additionally, about a one-log unit increase of <italic>E. coli</italic> O157:H7 cell counts were observed for both dual-species biofilms. To test the effects of environmental factors on growth of <italic>R. insidiosa</italic> and <italic>E. coli</italic> O157:H7 in dual-species biofilms, factors tested included low temperature (10 <super>o</super>C), media with different composition of nutrient sources (10% TSB, M9, 1.25% Cantaloupe Juice) and a continuous culture system with limited nutrients. <italic>E. coli</italic> O157:H7 cell counts increased for all tested conditions. To examine bacterial localization within biofilms, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used. Images showed distinct spatial distributions with <italic>E. coli</italic> O157:H7 commonly located at the bottom and also interspersed among <italic>R. insidiosa</italic> cells. To test the interactions with other pathogens, <italic>R. insidiosa</italic> was co-cultured with <italic>Listeria monocytogenes</italic>, <italic>Salmonella</italic> spp., and Shiga toxin-producing <italic>E. coli</italic>. Cells counts for 7 out of 9 tested pathogenic bacteria strains were increased (0.36-1.60 CFU log units). It is notable that the biomass formed by <italic>R. insidiosa</italic> and <italic>L. monocytogenes was much greater than those produced by other tested combinations</italic>. These results indicate that <italic>R. insidiosa</italic> could be a food safety risk in fresh-cut processing environments by providing protective habitats for pathogenic bacteria.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/14803
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledFood scienceen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledMicrobiologyen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledAgricultureen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledbiofilmsen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolleddual-speciesen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledE. colien_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledfresh-cuten_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledmicrofloraen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledpathogenen_US
dc.titleFood Safety Implications of Biofilms Formed by Resident Bacteria in Fresh-cut Processing Environmentsen_US
dc.typeDissertationen_US

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Liu_umd_0117E_14716.pdf
Size:
29.37 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

UMD Theses and Dissertations
Nutrition & Food Science Theses and Dissertations