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Bacterial biofilms in food processing environments: a review of recent developments in chemical and biological control
Author(s) -
Phillips Carol A.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
international journal of food science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.831
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1365-2621
pISSN - 0950-5423
DOI - 10.1111/ijfs.13159
Subject(s) - biofilm , extracellular polymeric substance , food industry , biochemical engineering , biology , bacteria , food science , engineering , genetics
Summary Biofilms are immobile communities of micro‐organisms attached to any surface, such as stainless steel or a food matrix surface or on packaging material. They may be composed of a single species, but more generally, in the natural environment, they consist of mixed species together with an extracellular matrix. Biofilms provide a common mechanism of persistence for a number of bacterial species especially in food processing environments, and therefore, prevention of biofilm formation and the removal of preformed biofilms are an important issue for the food industry. This article reviews the current understanding on the formation of biofilms and recent developments in biological and chemical methods for prevention and removal.