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Listeria monocytogenes can form biofilms in tap water and enter into the viable but non-cultivable state

Listeria monocytogenes can form biofilms in tap water and enter into the viable but non-cultivable state
Listeria monocytogenes can form biofilms in tap water and enter into the viable but non-cultivable state
Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that can be transmitted through contaminated raw food or by ready-to-eat products that have been in contact with contaminated surfaces. Tap water (TW) is used to wash produce, as a processed food constituent and to wash processing surfaces and floors. The main aim of this work was to investigate the formation and survival of L. monocytogenes biofilms on stainless steel (SS) coupons in TW at 4, 22, 30 and 37 °C. For that, coupons with biofilm were visualised in situ while other coupons were scraped to quantify total cells by SYTO 9, cultivable numbers by plating onto brain heart infusion agar and viable numbers by the direct viable count method. Results showed that L. monocytogenes can form biofilms on SS surfaces in TW at any temperature, including at 4 °C. The number of total cells was similar for all the conditions tested while cultivable numbers varied between the level of detection (<8.3 CFU cm(-2)) and 3.5?×?10(5) CFU cm(-2), meaning between 7.0?×?10(4) and 1.1?×?10(7) cells cm(-2) have entered the viable but non-cultivable (VBNC) state. This work clearly demonstrates that L. monocytogenes can form biofilms in TW and that sessile cells can remain viable and cultivable in some conditions for at least the 48 h investigated. On the other hand, VBNC adaptation suggests that the pathogen can remain undetectable using traditional culture recovery techniques, which may give a false indication of processing surface hygiene status, leading to potential cross-contamination of food products.
0095-3628
603-11
Gião, Maria S.
5638b770-3681-48b2-a9ae-9152b36ac504
Keevil, Charles W.
cb7de0a7-ce33-4cfa-af52-07f99e5650eb
Gião, Maria S.
5638b770-3681-48b2-a9ae-9152b36ac504
Keevil, Charles W.
cb7de0a7-ce33-4cfa-af52-07f99e5650eb

Gião, Maria S. and Keevil, Charles W. (2014) Listeria monocytogenes can form biofilms in tap water and enter into the viable but non-cultivable state. Microbial Ecology, 67 (3), 603-11. (doi:10.1007/s00248-013-0364-3). (PMID:24452996)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that can be transmitted through contaminated raw food or by ready-to-eat products that have been in contact with contaminated surfaces. Tap water (TW) is used to wash produce, as a processed food constituent and to wash processing surfaces and floors. The main aim of this work was to investigate the formation and survival of L. monocytogenes biofilms on stainless steel (SS) coupons in TW at 4, 22, 30 and 37 °C. For that, coupons with biofilm were visualised in situ while other coupons were scraped to quantify total cells by SYTO 9, cultivable numbers by plating onto brain heart infusion agar and viable numbers by the direct viable count method. Results showed that L. monocytogenes can form biofilms on SS surfaces in TW at any temperature, including at 4 °C. The number of total cells was similar for all the conditions tested while cultivable numbers varied between the level of detection (<8.3 CFU cm(-2)) and 3.5?×?10(5) CFU cm(-2), meaning between 7.0?×?10(4) and 1.1?×?10(7) cells cm(-2) have entered the viable but non-cultivable (VBNC) state. This work clearly demonstrates that L. monocytogenes can form biofilms in TW and that sessile cells can remain viable and cultivable in some conditions for at least the 48 h investigated. On the other hand, VBNC adaptation suggests that the pathogen can remain undetectable using traditional culture recovery techniques, which may give a false indication of processing surface hygiene status, leading to potential cross-contamination of food products.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 22 December 2013
e-pub ahead of print date: 23 January 2014
Published date: April 2014
Organisations: Biomedicine

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 377235
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/377235
ISSN: 0095-3628
PURE UUID: d0cf4c19-1be8-4dfc-9a40-a19afc60d13b
ORCID for Charles W. Keevil: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1917-7706

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Date deposited: 10 Jun 2015 10:51
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:12

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