Colonisation of bench cover materials by Salmonella typhimurium.

摘要

Due to the increasing requirements of food safety, it is of utmost importance to understand the mechanisms leading to cross contamination, i.e. the transfer of harmful substances or microorganisms to the human food chain. This can occur during food preparation due to the transfer of pathogenic microorganisms from foods to surfaces where they are being prepared, and from there to previously uncontaminated foods. This study attempted to investigate the ability of Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 13311 to colonize marble and granite, 2 materials commonly used as bench covers in kitchens of many countries. These materials were selected because there is a lack of studies in the literature about their susceptibility to bacterial colonization. In addition, the colonization of stainless steel (SS) 304, a material frequently studied, was also analysed for comparison purposes. Surface hydrophobicity and roughness were determined in order to explain the differences in the extent of adhesion. SS suffered the most extensive extent colonisation by Salmonella Typhimurium, followed by marble and, almost to the same extent, by granite. Results indicate that the extent of Salmonella Typhimurium adhesion is greatest on hydrophobic surfaces.