The Challenge of Biofilms in the Food Industry: Formation, Prevention and Control
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Microbiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2023) | Viewed by 30216
Special Issue Editors
Interests: cell adhesion; cell viability; biofilms; antimicrobial strategies; foodborne pathogens; food safety
Interests: clinical pathogens; foodborne pathogens; antibiotic resistance; surveillance; food and clinical-related biofilms
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Biofilms cause significant financial losses in the food industry, since the presence of biofilms along processing surfaces can result in corrosion and biofouling. This may imply the need to replace some pieces of equipment and higher energy consumption. Moreover, the alteration of organoleptic properties due to the secretion of lipases or proteases by some bacteria makes food unfit for consumption, which also entails economic losses. However, the most serious problem posed by biofilms is related with food poisoning, as some biofilm-forming species in food environments are human foodborne pathogens. According to food safety research, approximately 60 percent of foodborne illness outbreaks are caused by biofilms. This arises from the capacity of bacteria to easily adhere to food processing surfaces and to form biofilms, which are more difficult to remove from the surfaces by mechanical washing and cleaning and are also more resilient to disinfection procedures. In fact, the increased inherent resistance of biofilm bacteria to biocides is the major factor affecting plant sanitation and product safety.
Thus, it is urgent to deepen the knowledge regarding biofilms considering all perspectives relevant to the food industry, including the formation of biofilms and their structure, disinfection resistance and new strategies for targeting them. Also of great importance is the role of biofilms in cross-contamination at the retail level and its relevant in the overall picture of food contamination/outbreaks.
With this Special Issue, we aim to gather a collection of articles that boost our knowledge on food-associated biofilms, their real impact on food safety and quality, and innovative strategies that can help industry and retailers in managing this problem. We hope that helpful information can be gathered and used by relevant stockholders to increase food security/quality and, ultimately, to protect public health. Original research articles and reviews are welcome.
Dr. Pilar Teixeira
Dr. Carina Almeida
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- biofilm formation
- biofilm structure
- food industry
- food spoilage
- foodborne pathogens
- new antibiofilm strategies
- food safety
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