ABSTRACT
While more than two decades have passed since the term “biofilm” was coined, the effect of surface contamination by attached bacteria has long been known in the food processing industry. It has only been over the past 10 years, during which time the production of food, and especially meat products, has come under increasing pressure to improve sanitation and reduce the incidence of foodborne pathogens, that biofilms have been targeted as a major concern to food processing operations. Most food processing operations now use HACCP to closely monitor and record
critical food processing steps to ensure that high standards of plant and employee hygiene are maintained, and that the potential for health hazards in the final product is minimized. However, biofilms continue to pose a serious problem in many facilities despite efforts to control the situation. The solution to this problem in part lies with improved education about what biofilms are and how they form, as well as proven and novel control strategies for their removal and killing.
